The Lagos State Police Command has
apprehended a 37-year-old man, Ajibola Idowu, for allegedly kidnapping the
daughter of his landlord for three years. The suspect was also said to have
forcefully impregnated the victim, Modupe Brown, during captivity. The police
told PUNCH Metro that after Brown had given birth to the child, Ajibola
refused to allow the child access to immunisation. As a result, the child was
said to have contracted polio disease and subsequently became crippled. Details
after the break
Lagos Deputy Police Public Relations
Officer, Damasus Ozoani, told PUNCH Metro that Ajibola, was arrested
along with his mother, Ebun, who allegedly conspired with him to commit the
act. He said, “Brown, a 400 level student
of Business Administration at the Lagos State University, was kidnapped by
Ajibola who kept her in captivity with his family for “three years between 2010
and 2013.
“On September 19, 2013, policemen
from Area E Command, went to the Sagamu area of Ogun State to rescue the victim
and also arrested the mother of the abductor, who watched over the victim.
Ajibola was later arrested in the Idumota area of Lagos Island.
“During the three years,
Ajibola kept Brown in three locations -Oshogbo, Osun State, where she
spent six months; Bariga, Lagos, where she spent six months; and Sagamu, Ogun
State, where she spent about two years. “Ajibola forcefully impregnated
Brown while in captivity. She delivered a baby girl, who later became deformed
as a result of Ajibola’s refusal to have the baby immunised against the Polio
virus.”
While speaking with our
correspondent, Brown described her ordeal in the hands of her abductor as a
journey through the valley of the shadow of death. She said she was abducted at
her father’s house in the Ebute Meta area of Lagos State. She said, “I can’t even remember how
he kidnapped me. All I know is that he held me captive for three years. It’s as
if I was under a spell. Even when I was going to give birth, he did not allow
me to go to a hospital. The baby was delivered at home and he was the one
giving me medication.
“Even one day, when state officials
came to the area to immunise children, he said he would not allow the child to
be immunised, saying the drugs had been poisoned. Once, when I tried to leave,
he threatened to kill me.” PUNCH Metro learnt that during her time in captivity, the victim’s
parents, who are retired civil servants, searched hospitals, mortuaries, police
stations and churches for her all to no avail.
The victim’s father, Idowu Brown,
said he had no clue that Ajibola was the abductor. He said, “I never knew it
was Ajibola that kidnapped my daughter. He was my tenant for six years and
greeted me every day. We even used to share jokes. He was aware that I had been
looking “for my daughter for three years but he never said anything.
“When we could not find her, I
reported the matter at FESTAC Police Division. It was in September this year
that we heard from our daughter for the first time. She told us that she was in
Sagamu and my wife went there. “There we met Ajibola’s mother. That
was how we found out that he (tenant) was the one behind the whole thing.”
The suspects however denied
abducting the landlord’s daughter. Ajibola’s mother claimed her son and Brown
were lovers, who decided to elope, maintaining that the case was not an
abduction.
She said, “They were lovers. I never
got involved in their matter until the child was born. I went to stay with them
for about seven months to take care of the child, who was very ill. A few
months after I left, they moved in with me at my three-bedroom house at Sagamu
because they had been evicted.
“Ajibola was not staying with us
because his business was in Lagos but I was with Brown “most of the time. Many
times, I would ask her about her parents and when I could meet them but she
kept on giving silly excuses until the day her mother came to my house with
policemen.”
Ajibola, who is into satellite dish
installation, said the plan to elope was hatched by Brown who paid N200, 000
into his bank account. The money was said to have been meant for her school
project. He said he could not understand why
she would make such allegations against him.
“I did not kidnap her; we were
lovers and decided to elope. Even when she was at my house, she used to make
calls to her relatives telling them that she was alright,” he said.
Was she locked in a building for the 3 years.. These days you don't just know whom to believe.
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