A female apprentice, simply identified as Tawa, has reportedly abducted her employer’s child on her first day at work.
Tawa was said to have disappeared with the male child, aged one year and three months, in Osunjela community, along the Ilesa Garage area of Osun State, on August 2, 2024.
Confirming the incident on Wednesday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun State Command, ASC Kehinde Adeleke, said the female suspect had approached the woman to learn how to make bags before she committed the crime.
Adeleke disclosed that the bag maker had sent Tawa on an errand before the suspect went along with her two children.
The suspect, according to the NSCDC spokeswoman, discharged the older child and asked her to deliver the potatoes her mistress had sent her before making away with the baby.
“On August 2, 2024, it was reported at the Command’s Headquarters, along Iwo-Ibadan Road, Osun State, that a male child aged one year and three months was kidnapped at Osunjela, along Ilesa Garage.
“Discreet investigation revealed that one lady known as Tawa was introduced to the mother of the baby by a family friend known as Sodiq, who said Tawa wanted to learn bag making from the woman.
“The very first day the suspect, Tawa, came to work, she carried the baby pretending to be playing with him. She thereafter went out with the baby’s elder sister, who was 10 years old, and was sent on an errand alongside the younger brother. While on their way, Tawa asked the baby’s elder sister to go and deliver potatoes to the mother. However, Tawa took away the one-year-and-three-month-old baby,” Adeleke explained.
Adeleke said the command received two other reports of child kidnapping across the state, expressing concerns over the surge in incidents.
“Also, on the same day, there was a report that a three-year-old child went missing at Ifesowapo Street, Owode, Osogbo, Osun State. Investigation revealed that the child was last seen playing in a shop, and his whereabouts have not been known till now.
“Another five-month-old female child belonging to deaf and dumb parents in Agbeye town, Odo-Otin Local Government of Osun State, was kidnapped on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, on a farm where her mother was gathering firewood. The child was laid under a shade of trees so that the mother could quickly finish packing the firewood. By the time the mother went back to breastfeed the baby, she was nowhere to be found,” she added.
The corps image maker disclosed that the state Commandant of NSCDC, Michael Adaralewa Ph.D, appealed to parents to be vigilant and ensure the safety of their children, particularly now that schools are on holiday and children are more likely to be in public places without supervision.
She said the command is currently investigating the three cases of child kidnapping, noting that some suspects have been apprehended so far in connection with the crime.
