The pathetic story of the Orekoyas is the type that really touches the heart. Only a very wicked person will hear this and keep a straight face. MATTHEW DIKE, Lagos writes.
Three children of same parents were kidnapped by a nanny employed by the Orekoya family, but just 24- hours later, they were no where to be found until 8- days after ransom money exchanged hands before they were released.
Their parents wept and screamed but to no avail until their phone rang and the voice of a male kidnapper introduced himself and demanded for N15 million if the family was ready to set their eyes on their beloved children again.
The family begged and they reduced the money to N13 million. Further pleadings by the family met a brick wall as the kidnappers threatened to kill the children.
Even people, especially women who were not related to the Orekoyas wept alongside the victims’ family.
What sort of wicked criminal would kidnap Ademola, 11months old, Adedamola, 4 years old and Damola, 6 years old? The kids after their rescue complained that the kidnappers put them inside one nylon bag and dropped them inside a vehicle and moved them away. How they managed to survive is nothing short of God’s miracle.
Their parents, Leke and Adebisi Orekoya, said they thought they were dreaming to face reality, as the day passed by, they engaged themselves in prayers and begged God to save the lives of their children. They said many people joined them in praying for the survival of the kids.
Father of the kids, Leke srevealed that some corrupt Nigerians wanted to enrich themselves, by taking advantage of our situation tried in so many ways to swindle his family, claiming to be in possession of the kidnapped kids. “It’s very serious because who do you trust among them? We didn’t know who was who, so we only believed in the first caller. Honestly, some scammers wanted to scam us claiming to be the kidnappers that kidnapped our kids. Even last night (Wednesday) some scammers were still calling, claiming to be in possession of our children but unknown to them God has rescued our children for us, so we ignored them.”
On why he did not vet the nanny before employing her, Leke said,”Anybody can make similar mistake. Those that can really deal with you are people that are close to you and the family. Mary Akinloye is not the nanny’s real name, we later found out that her real name is Olufunmilayo Adeyemi. She planned the kidnap with her husband and husband’s brother as the police said. So all the information she gave through OLX were fake. We don’t have any intention of dragging OLX to court because of the kidnap. I have no regret using OLX. It was not its fault. What happened to us could happen to anybody. We had our wrongs and we have paid dearly for it. I was not myself. For good eight days, my children were kidnapped and it was as if the heaven had fallen on me. All my thinking was how to get my kids back alive. I could not think properly. The psychological trauma is better imagined. I pray nobody experiences what we experienced.”
I will not tell you whether it’s the police that rescued the kids or not because investigation is ongoing. Just as I will not tell you how much ransom we paid to the kidnappers and how we paid it.”
The father said the nanny is really a professional kidnapper the way she behaved and made my wife and me to feel relaxed that we had found the right nanny. She cleaned the house so well that we commended her and urged her to continue that way and she would never regret living with us. Unknown to us, the woman is a wolf in a sheep’s skin. Anyway, on that very day they abandoned our kids in an uncompleted building at Akonwojo, near Shasha, in Lagos, we got them back between 9.30pm and 10 pm on Tuesday. It was only prayer that was the key to their recovery because it is only God that can protect you. You can be diligent but you can also see that banks are very diligent, but are they not defrauding banks?” he asked.
Leke also said, “Nanny Akinloye was not our first nanny. When the second nanny was leaving, she wrote to us one month in advance. The third only took excuse that she was travelling for Easter and that was the last we saw of her before the last one that kidnapped our kids was employed.” he said.
Leke’s wife, Adebisi said they could neither eat nor sleep since after the kidnap of their children. Her words: “ Before the rescue of our three children,whenever I’m seated, I would be thinking as If I was dreaming. I would be soliloquizing- three children at a time. Only me- three children stolen or kidnapped from me?. I felt like dying. I would cry non-stop. But as soon as the kidnappers contacted me, I began to work towards their rescue. I appreciate police efforts. I also called my office (UBA) that I would not come to the office. The next day again I called my office that I would not come to work. That nanny is a real crook. She is a professional kidnapper. She resumed work that last week Wednesday. She was working so hard. She would play with the children and the children were happy with her. We were impressed but we never envisaged that she had an ulterior motive. She cleaned the whole flat and I showered encomium on her that we just found what we were looking for, unknown to me and my husband, we were digging our own graves. From her attitude she is a well trained kidnapper.The next day she disappeared with the three kids. Anyway, after the kidnap I led the prayers and people usually joined us to pray for the safety and return of the kids. I attend Dexter Christian Centre (a church).”
Adebisi’s reaction when the three kids were rescued: “The day (Tuesday night) they came back and I saw them,I carried them and was looking at their bodies one after the other. We took them to the police clinic at the Police College, Ikeja, and there I remained and watched over them to ensure that nothing untoward happened to any of them. The children after they have been rescued cried that the kidnappers put them inside one nylon bag and dropped them in a car and drove off. That was how they suffered my children God gave to me. Honestly, I’ve not started sleeping. It’s still like a dream.”
She has a message for the self-acclaimed nanny, Mary Akinloye: “Through tracking we know that the children were within Egbeda or its environs. My message for the fake Mary Akinloye: I took Mary like a sister the first day I met her. I liked her. I only told her to take proper care of my children. I want to see somebody put Mary inside a nylon bag and put her inside a car booth so that she would appreciate what these kids went through. My children said they fed them with rice and indomie. I’ve never encountered any trauma like this since I was born,” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment