Man exchanges abducted boy with three bags of rice in Lagos

An unidentified middle-aged man has abducted a 10-year-old boy who went on an errand for his mother and exchanged him with three bags of rice in Ijegun, an outskirt of Lagos State.

The suspect, who is still at large, had accosted the victim, Divine Ebie, at the weekend, at Prince bus-stop, Isheri Oshun area, while on the errand for his mother. He was said to have introduced himself to the unsuspecting boy as a relative.

Thereafter, he lured him to a shop where he collected three bags of rice, after convincing the sales girl that he was going to get the money, while his brother remained with her.

Speaking with reporters, the sales girl said: “When the man came to the shop with the boy, he asked how much was a bag of rice. I told him it was N16,000. He left with the boy, saying he was going to tell the woman that sent them. Moments later, he came back and said that he needed three bags. He said that his brother would remain with me while he went to get the money.

“After waiting for about one hour without seeing him, I told the boy to take me to his mum’s shop at Fire junction. But he said that his mother did not own a shop there and that the stranger only met him on the road and brought him to the shop. It was at that point that I knew I had been robbed. I alerted my neighbours, who said the stranger could have used the boy to exchange for the bags of rice.”

Meanwhile, apprehension had set in at Divine’s house after his worried mother visited the shop, only to be informed that his son had left with a stranger. While a search party was combing the vicinity for Divine, owner of the shop and the sales girl were sighted taking the boy to the Isheri-Oshun police division.

The police, however, released him to his parents same day with a directive to report back to the station yesterday, where a peace meeting between Divine’s parents and owner of the shop who insisted on getting the money for the bags of rice, would be held.

The Guardian gathered that Divine and his parents visited the division but that the meeting did not hold yesterday as scheduled, as the shop owner was said to be sick.