His father, Pa Yekini Amusa, is 72-year-old, while his mother,
Muinat Azeez is 25. Little Lekan Yekini who is now nine years old is an adept
hemp smoker and a professional burglar.
Lekan disclosed that he was already
into hemp smoking and was adept at burglary.
The torrid lifestyle of the young boy was exposed when he was rescued by
members of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Ikire from a man, Biodun Oladejo,
who allegedly abducted him from Ibadan to use him for alms. Oladejo was
pretending to be blind with Lekan acting as his eyes and guide. Lekan was
thereafter taken by the OPC rescue team to the police in Osun State Police
Command.
Lekan, whose parents are separated, was said to have become a truant and was
constantly running away from home. When the father, 72-year-old Pa Yekini
Amusa, got tired of his truancy, he reportedly took him to a Quranic teacher so
that Lekan could learn more about Islam and its teachings, while he would also stay
with the teacher.
But Lekan could not cope, as he ran, as many times as he had the opportunity,
from the Quranic school. He took the decision to become a street urchin even at
a tender age of eight in 2011.
That was how his foray into the world of drug and crime began. Soon after, he
was entrapped by Biodun Oladejo, who allegedly hypnotised him with charms and
took him to Ilorin. He started using him to beg for alms and allegedly sent him
to go and steal from a neighbour before his criminal activity became exposed,
when the boy was intercepted while escaping with money stolen from Oladejo’s
landlord. Tired of living a forced lifestyle, the young boy revealed the
criminal activities his ‘boss’ had engaged in with him.
This reportedly led to Oladejo’s arrest by policemen from Ikire police station
while the case was later transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department
(SCID), Osogbo for further investigation. After the investigation, the case was
transferred to Oyo State CID, Iyaganku, since the offence of child stealing was
committed in Ibadan.
However, more than the case of child stealing, nine-year-old Lekan gave an
expose on his lifestyle while he lived outside the protection of his parents.
His story:
“I was still small when my father and my mother separated so I didn’t know what
happened. My father put me in school but I used to run away because I didn’t
like school. My father later took me an Afaa (Quranic teacher) at Ajegede axis
of Ode Aje area in Ibadan. I used to run away from there anytime I was sent on
an errand but my father used to take me back whenever he found me.
“On a particular day, I ran away from the Quranic teacher’s house and went to a
place where a naming ceremony was being held. I met one boy called Dare and
after we became acquainted, he took me to Agbaje market at Agbeni area. We used
to sleep under shelves. I was shown my way around and like others whom I met
there, I started picking aluminium scrap for sale to buyers, while I also
dispose of refuse for a fee.
“I met one man called Baba Aliya where we used to go and dump refuse. He was
the one who used to collect fee from us before we could dump anything. One day,
he asked me to go and buy Indian hemp for him. When I returned, he drew some
puffs and taught me how to smoke too. That was how I became used to smoking
Indian hemp.
“He told me he was into burglary, saying me that he used to burgle shops in the
market. He promised to pay me well if I would join him. I agreed. Anytime we
went to burgle shops, he would carry me through the window and ask me to look
for any container with money inside. Whenever we were successful, he would give
me between N300 and N500. I used to spend the money on food and Indian hemp. I
used to buy N20, N30 or N50 worth of hemp at a time, depending on the amount I
had on me.
“Baba Aliya used to work with about five of us. I have been arrested several
times by night guards without them detecting Baba Aliya’s involvement. This was
because he would hide at a distance after putting me inside the shop and,
sometimes, in my attempt to jump out after concluding the task, I would jump
into the hands of the night guards. They would ask me questions but I would
only take them to my father’s house. My father would, in turn, take me to the
Afaa’s house and I would run again at the slightest opportunity I got.
“That was my lifestyle until one night in August this year. I was sitting
somewhere within the market with other boys at about 8p.m, when the man called
Biodun came with a friend of his. He called my name, hit me on the chest and
asked whether I would follow him to Ilorin in Kwara State to help him in
carrying loads. I answered in the affirmative. He took me while the friend took
another boy, and we left for Ilorin that same night.
“We got to Ilorin at midnight. In the morning, he told me we would be begging
for alms, while he would be pretending to be blind. We started and he was
paying me N300 daily. However, I was keeping the money with him so that I would
not spend it anyhow.
“After about a month, I got tired and bored, so I told him I wanted to return
to Ibadan. He promised to take me back during Ileya (Eid-el-Kabir). He took me
from Ilorin to Ikire in Osun State and from there, we used to go to Ibadan for
alms begging. I told him again that I wanted to return to Ibadan fully but he
did not respond to me.
“One day, he asked me to go to our landlord’s room to steal. I did and gave him
what I got. He divided it and gave me my share, after which he left for a
ceremony. As soon as he left, I went towards Ibadan-Ilesa expressway to board a
bus to Ibadan but I was stopped by some okada riders who asked me questions. I
told them I was being used for alms begging. They took me to members of Odua
Peoples Congress, and from there I was taken to the police station.”
