A kidnapper masquerading as a lesson teacher has kidnapped five children in the Rukpakulus community of Eliozu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The children who were within the ages of 1year 6months to 4 years from two different families were abducted by the woman from their homes after she disguised as a lesson teacher.
Reacting to the incident, Rose Monday, the mother of the three abducted children stated that the lady perpetrated the act from her neighbour’s house where her children went to play.
According to Rose, her children were last seen after the woman who claimed to be looking for a temporary structure within the axis for lessons took them to buy notebooks.
She said, “I was at home when one of my children who was playing with her siblings came back alone. I asked her the whereabouts of her brothers’. She said one aunty (woman) said she will bring them home.
“I asked where the woman had taken them to and she replied that the woman took her to Oil Mill (a popular market in Port Harcourt) to start taking them on lessons and she and the other children followed her.
“They (children) were seven including one of my neighbour’s children. She said the woman told her to go that she has given her money for transport, that she will bring her brothers to the house.”
Narrating her ordeal, the 14-year old daughter of Mrs Monday who was among those earlier kidnapped but later released, stated that the woman allowed her and their neighbour’s son off around the Oil Mill market area, but went away with the other five children.
According to the teenager, she said, “I told the aunty that the small one (child) don’t know how to write by herself and the woman can go and buy the books.
“The woman said no, that she likes little children. As I followed her, she started watching me. When I returned the looks, she smiled.
“She now stopped a vehicle and all of us entered. When we got to Oil Mill, the woman kept me there and sat down.
“The woman now told me she wants to take the children to go pick up something. So, I sat there for a long time.
“I then asked a girl operating PoS if she knew where the woman took the children to and the girl replied that she didn’t know the woman.”
In a related development, Blessing Emmanuel, the mother of the other two children, said the unidentified lady contracted her husband to handle the construction of the temporary location for the lesson classes before she kidnapped her children.
“So this woman told the children that she organises lessons (home classes) and that if she sees a way, she will begin lessons for them. So the grown-up child said, ‘Aunty let’s go and buy books’.
“Since I know the girl and her brothers’ who usually come to my house to play with my children because she was a former neighbour, I allowed my children to follow them,” Blessing added.
While confirming the incident, the acting spokesperson of the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko described the parents of the abducted children as being careless.
According to Grace, “Those people (parents) were they not careless? Somebody came to you that she is a teacher, went to their house and told them she wants to take the children and buy books for them.
“They allowed her to take the children. Is it supposed to be like that? So, you can see that it is the carelessness of parents and they will now fall back on the police.
“We (police) have commenced investigation to ensure that the children are rescued, as well as arrest the woman and make her face the law.”
The acting spokesperson of the Police Command, therefore, advised parents to be vigilant and report every suspicious character around their children in whatever disguise to the police or raise the alarm where necessary.