Woman abducts stepdaughter, buries her in soakaway

The police in Lagos have arrested a woman, Aminat Akanni, for allegedly abducting two of her stepchildren and murdering one of them because she claimed her husband refused to provide Sallah clothes for her own son.

It was learnt that the suspect killed one of the kids, Nofisat, by pushing her into a soakaway.

Aminat was arrested by the police at CMS Bus Stop, Lagos Island, on October 9.

Our correspondent learnt that prior to the arrest, seven-year-old Lateef and four-year-old Nofisat had been declared missing on Friday, October 3- a day to the Sallah celebration.

It was learnt that the father of the missing children, Moshood Mubo, who is also the suspect’s husband, had raised the alarm and reported the case to the Adeniji Adele Police Division on Friday, October 3.

However, after the suspect’s arrest, she confessed to have abducted the two kids from Church Street, Lagos Island where they lived.

She further confessed to have also killed the younger, child, Nofisat, by pushing her into soakaway beside a mosque in the Orile area.

It was gathered that Lateef and Nofisat were pupils in Primary 1 and Nursery 2 classes respectively in a private school.

Moshood who hails from Ilorin, Kwara State, said his second wife, who he rented an apartment for in the Orile area, abducted the kids claiming that she wanted to “punish him for not buying Sallah clothes for her own son.”

He said, “I married Aminat in 2010. In order to avoid a crisis at home, I rented an apartment for her at Mosalashi Street, Alakara in Orile. She has only one son for me. His name is Yusuf. She does not come to Church Street, Lagos Island where I live with my first wife.

“What happened was that on the evening of Friday, October 3, when I returned from work- just a day to the Sallah celebrations- I sent the two children to go buy biscuits in front of the street. That was around 7pm. We expected them till around 9pm. I was shocked. I quickly rushed to the Adeniji Adele Police Division, and reported the incident.

“Believe me, I and their mother, Funmilayo, could not sleep all through that night. We were walking around throughout the night from one police division to the other, repeating the same thing. The whole Sallah celebration was a sad one as I looked for my two children. Little did I know that it was my second wife who sneaked into our area to abduct them.”

Moshood, who spoke to our correspondent while fighting back tears, added that Aminat had called him the following day, and made a suspicious comment.

He said, “The following morning, around 11am, Aminat called me and heard me crying on the phone. I told her that we were looking for Lateef and Nofisat, she simply said, ‘All I know is that no one can kidnap my own son.’ I was shocked at her statement, but I never thought she was the one behind the whole trouble.

“It was six days later when the police arrested her that she then confessed that she committed the act because she claimed I was not taking care of her, and I had not bought sallah clothes for her son, which is not true. She had sneaked to our area, and asked the two kids to follow her to Orile. This is unimaginable for me.”

It was also gathered that as the search for the two children continued, which took Mubo and his first wife to travel to Ilorin, Kwara State to consult their relatives and get ‘spiritual help’, a friend had called them on Thursday, October 9, that she saw Lateef with Akanni around the CMS Bus Stop, Lagos Island. The police were then invited who trailed her movement and arrested her.

The mother of the two children, Funmilayo, told PUNCH Metro that Aminat had bottled up grievances against her for a long time.

She said, “Aminat killed my daughter. She made us to have a sorrowful Sallah. We were running around police stations. She said she wanted to punish me and my husband because she was having issues with us. So, why did she not come after us, why after my two children?”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident, adding that Aminat was now in police custody.

He said, “Aminat Akanni is the second wife of the complainant. Investigation revealed that the corpse of Nofisat was recovered by the Orile Division in a sudden and unnatural death.

“The suspect confessed to have drowned the child and dropped the corpse at Orile. The case has now been transferred to the Orile Division for further synchronisation and action.”