Abuja Missing Baby Puzzle: Another one-year-old disappears

Another one-year-old boy, Fabulous Onwudiachi, has been declared missing at Jikwoyi, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, few meters away from the police station.

The development, which is now rampant in the nation’s capital, has become a source of worry and concern to residents.

The incident occurred on Thursday at about 2:00pm near Assemblies of God Church, Transformer Bus Stop, Jikwoyi Phase 1, located few meters away from Jikwoyi Police Station, while in the company of his sister and brother.

It was gathered that Fabulous, in the company of his nine-year-old sister (Favour) and his seven-year-old brother (Famous), left their mother’s shop for that of their grandmother’s shop located few meters away.

The children were said to have been accosted while on their way by a strange man who claimed to be their father’s friend who offered them the sum of N150 to buy biscuits but in the process collected the baby from them, adding that he was sent by their father.

The situation compelled the children to rush down to their father’s shop, which was directly opposite their grandmother’s shop to confirm the veracity of the claim by the man but left the baby with him in the process.

When they narrated what transpired to their father, he denied sending anybody to give them money or take the baby from them.

At this point the father, Onwudiachi Raymond, popularly known as (Yankee Mouse) became agitated and nervous, having sensed that there was a problem as he rushed to inform his wife, Nkechi, in her shop, of the development.

He said his children had been going to their grandmother’s house to have lunch and that they preferred to eat her food and that was not the first time.

Raymond, while speaking to journalists said: “Yesterday around 2:00pm my daughter and her brother just rushed into my shop crying. They said Daddy did you see your friend. I said who is my friend? They said Uncle Sam.

“I said I don’t have anybody that is called Sam as friend. They said he claimed that he was my friend and that he took my baby (Fabulous) away from them. Whenever they come back from school, they use to go to their grandmother’s house which is very close to my shop because they always say they like my grandmother’s food,” he said.

Meanwhile, the matter was said to have been reported at the Jikwoyi Police station and they were asked to come back on Friday.

But upon their arrival at the station an altercation ensued as the female police who was said to be in charge of the case chased away the grieving couple, accusing them of coming to the station with journalists.

The police also threatened to arrest them.

The journalists had followed the couple to the station with the intention of getting the reaction of the police on the matter after they had interviewed the father of the baby.

The female officer ignored the appeals by the couple who tried to explain the mission of the journalists at the station.

She eventually asked one of the officers at the gate to escort them out of the station.

(Daily Independent)