Miracle Adereti Kolawole, a 13-year-old student, was abducted by an unknown gang while returning home from school last Friday, December 1st, in the Ikotun area of Lagos.
Her father, Mr. Adereti Oluwadare Segun, recounted that he dropped Miracle and her younger sister at the bus stop where the school bus usually picks them in the morning before heading to work at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), where he serves as an air traffic communicator with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). He received a distressing call in the afternoon informing him of his daughter’s kidnapping.
The incident was reported at the Afonka Police Station in Egbeda, Alimosho, Lagos, on the same day.
According to a police incident report, Inspector Ogidiolu Olajimi, is leading the investigation and rescue efforts.
Witnesses reported that the gang followed the school bus, parked a short distance away from the bus stop, waited for the bus to leave, then abducted Miracle while she and her sister were walking home.
Mr. Adereti, while speaking to journalists, said, “We woke up early to prepare the kids for school before I dropped them at the bus stop. We had no inkling of such a wicked act by this gang, who falsely claimed that, as a politician, I have sufficient funds to secure my daughter’s release.”
He further added, “We’ve received threats warning us not to involve the police. But as a family, we are deeply distressed and have no choice but to seek help from law enforcement. I implore the diligent officers of the Nigeria Police Force to swiftly take action to track down these culprits. Their threats indicate they’re seeking a ransom, putting our lives in peril.”
Mr. Adereti pleaded for police presence at his residence for interim security, stating, “The situation has traumatised my family. I earnestly appeal for immediate intervention to bring these criminals to justice and ensure our safety.”