A suspected child abductor, Ola Ibikunle, who sold a three-year-old for N1,500 has been arrested by the police.
The Punch reports that Ibikunle, a bricklayer, was arrested after he abducted a four-year-old girl in Oyero area of Ijoko, Ogun State.
According to the newspaper, Ibikunle, was about to strangle his victim, Eniola, in an uncompleted building when he was caught by passersby. He was later handed over to operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Agbado Police Division.
Eniola and her 11-year-old sister Opeyemi were following their father, Segun Quadri, to a church in Ijoko around 2pm on Tuesday when she was grabbed by Ibikunle.
Quadri was said to have gone some distance ahead when the suspect ambushed the children and abducted Eniola. Opeyemi reportedly raised the alarm which caught the attention of some passersby.
The suspect was subsequently found in an uncompleted building where he was trying to strangle the girl.
An angry mob had beaten him up before the police arrived at the scene.
The suspect, who spoke in Yoruba, also confessed to stealing a 3-year-old boy around the Ijoko area sometime in June. He said he sold the boy to a man in the Sango area for N1,500.
He said, “I am a bricklayer, but I use child abduction to augment my wages. A man in the Sango area contracted me to always get children for him. I don’t know what he uses them for. Last month, I abducted a boy of about three years and sold him to the man for N1,500.
“This girl (Eniola) was the second child I would abduct, but I did not succeed.”
A police source told the Punch that efforts were being made to apprehend the buyer of the abducted boy.
“The suspect has confessed to the crime and he stated that he sells his victims to a man in the Sango area. But he has yet to mention the name of the kingpin. Some operatives followed him to the area twice, but he did not lead them to the man’s house. We are going to ensure that we track him down,” the source said.
