When four years old Emmanuel left for school on Tuesday, July 2, 2013, little did his parents know that they would not see him for the next three months. But that was the case. He was abducted from the school that very day. How did the toddler cope in the kidnappers’ den?
The boy looked worried and in dire need of his parents care. Though, looking forlorn and confused about the crowd around him, the boy, Emmanuel, could not have wished better than he was in the warm embrace of his parents, having been forcefully taken from them.
For nearly three months, Emmanuel was stolen from his school by unknown persons. As was usual, the boy was reportedly dropped off in his school, (name withheld) along Uwani area of Enugu. It was Tuesday, July 2, 2013. But Emmanuel’s parents would not set their eyes on their beloved son for the next 83 days.
The entire school management was thrown into pandemonium the fateful afternoon the four-year-old boy went missing. The matter was immediately reported to the Anti-Kidnapping unit of the state’s police command which swung into action immediately. But the search for the whereabouts of the toddler would take longer than anticipated by the law enforcement agents.
For nearly three months, security operatives combed the forests in the state looking for the whereabouts of the boy. However, on Thursday, 26 September, 2013, just as the parents of the boy and all concerned were about giving up hope on his recovery, security operatives swooped on a man, identified as Ejiofor Eze who allegedly held the boy hostage.
Spokesman for Enugu State Police Command, Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement, confirmed the rescue of Emmanuel at Awada in Anambra State following combined efforts of security operatives. Police investigations also identified the man and his wife as principal suspects in the kidnap of the boy.
The discovery of the culpability of Ejiofor and the woman in the abduction of the boy only confirmed earlier suspicion by security agents that the two of them were the mastermind in the kidnap. Rescuing the boy became the priority of the security operatives and this they achieved without much fuss. But by the time they came back for the Ejiofors, they were nowhere to be found. Amaraizu, in the statement informed journalists that the young Emmanuel is in fine condition and was rescued unhurt.
A police source, who craved anonymity, told Saturday Mirror that a manhunt had been launched for the fleeing suspects. Narrating the ordeal of the boy’s parents a source said, “Immediately the boy was abducted we got the message and the anti-kidnapping unit of the command was placed on alert. But the surprise of it all was the man and the wife that were linked to the kidnap.
Anyway, thank God our men were able to rescue the boy hale and hearty. But I am sure another manhunt for the fleeing suspects has been launched,” she said. Saturday Mirror could not speak to the parents of the boy, but a member of staff in the school told our correspondent that the incident shook the school to its foundations. According to the woman, who preferred not to be mentioned, “the incident was an eye opener for the management of the school.
Source: National Mirror
