A house help has been arrested after abducting two siblings belonging to her employer in Lagos.
The house help who doubled as a nanny was arrested along with two other suspects in Edo State.
Precious Mmaduike, 21, Jane Osas, 35, and John Obasu, 45, were arrested by Edo State Police Command after abducting two siblings, aged 4-male and 2-female.
They were abducted from Balogun Kuku street, Aguda, Surulere in Lagos, on 23 August 2021
Standard Gazette gathered that the housemaid orchestrated the abduction, using her familiarity with the children before running to Edo State.
The father of the children, Mr Ibe Phenasus, who reported the incident to the police, said, at about 08:45hrs, his wife gave the kids N500 to buy biscuits outside the compound in the company of the house help.
A few minutes later, the kids were nowhere to be found, and the house help phone was switched off.
SG gathered that the parents searched from the house to the shop, but the kids were gone, and so was the housemaid.
The matter was immediately reported to Aguda Police Station, Lagos.
The police tracked Precious’s telephone before it was turned off to Benin City.
Standard Gazette gathered that Ibe travelled to Benin city in search of his children. With the help of the Anti-kidnapping and Cyber Crime Unit of Edo State, the children were rescued unhurt.
The children were rescued on Friday, 27 August at about 17:30hrs in a remote area in Ugbihiokho in the Egor local government area of Edo state.
The police arrested Precious and an unnamed woman she visited with the children.
Standard Gazette gathered that Precious met the woman on the internet but claimed the two children belonged to her, lying that they were in Benin for a visit.
The police also seized items the Benin based woman had bought for the kids.
After the rescue, the matter took a twist when one Joseph Obaze raised an alarm of abduction against the police operatives on their way back to the station.
The alarm attracted unknown numbers of vigilante members who immediately blocked the road.
Despite introducing themselves, the mob pounced on the officers, causing bodily injuries.
Before reinforcement could arrive at the scene, the vigilante group had escaped.
The police said efforts are in place to apprehend the vigilante leader and gang members who attacked the operatives.
The Commissioner of Police enjoins all law-abiding members of the public to go about their lawful businesses, noting that the command will not allow miscreants in the name of a vigilante group to take over the public space.
Contacted, Edo police public relations officer, SP Bello Kontongs, said the police achieve its mandate of protecting lives and property, the CP enjoins the public to continue to provide helpful information to the police about criminals and their activities.
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