An artisan on Waidi Ogunseye Street, Meiran, Lagos State,
Kingsley Oriaku, has owned up to selling one of his five children, a
one-and-a-half-year-old girl, Chimamada Oriaku......
He also confessed to kidnapping his neighbour’s
seven-year-old son, Gabriel Yanga, barely two months after he moved to the
area, adding that he used the N310,000 he realised from the sale of the two
children for the burial of his father-in-law.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the 37-year-old Abia State indigene
sold his daughter in September 2017 for N190,000 to the operator of an
orphanage home in Aba, Abia State, through a self-acclaimed evangelist, Adaeze
Obi.
Two days after selling the daughter, he returned to his
Lagos residence and reportedly lured Yanga out of the compound, while his mother
was not at home.
He was alleged to have subsequently taken him to Obi in Abia
State, who linked him up with one Loveth Nwako.
Nwako was said to have led Kingsley and Yanga to her sister
in Anambra State.
The sister, Ngozi, collected the child and gave the artisan
N120,000.
Our correspondent learnt that the suspects were arrested in
November by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos State Command,
Ikeja, where Yanga’s parents reported the case.
Kingsley was paraded at the command headquarters in Ikeja on
Monday, along with two of the accomplices, Nwako and Obi.
He told PUNCH Metro that he sold the children to raise funds
for the burial of his father-in-law in Abia State.
He said, “I am a bricklayer. My father-in-law died and we
wanted to do his burial. People that owed me refused to pay me.
“I was living in Abia State with my family. In July, I moved
down to Lagos. Early in September, I contacted a nurse called Patience that I
wanted Chimamada to be at the orphanage for proper care.
“She works at a hospital where my wife gave birth to
Chimamada.
“Patience directed me to the evangelist, who took Chimamada
to the orphanage home.
“I collected N190,000 from the operator of the orphanage
home. Two days after, I came back to Lagos and fled with Gabriel (Yanga). I
took him to the evangelist on her request and got N120,000. I used the money
for my father in-law’s burial.”
He said after much pressure from his wife on the whereabouts
of their daughter, he opened up to her, adding that his wife reported him to
the police in Abia State.
“We later settled the case and our daughter was recovered
from the orphanage. In November, policemen from Lagos came to pick me up in
Abia State. Loveth (Nwako) and I led them to recover the boy as well,” he
added.
The 38-year-old evangelist, Obi, said she got only N10,000
transport fare from Esther, the orphanage owner, adding that Kingsley lied to
her (Obi).
She said, “Patience contacted me. She said Kingsley told her
that he had separated from his wife and that no one was taking care of their
children.
“She asked me to direct him to an orphanage where he could
take one of the children to. I took Kingsley to the Queen Esther Motherless
Babies’ Home.
“He told the woman that he was stranded and needed money to
pay house rent.
“The woman gave him N190,000 and gave me N10,000 for
transport. I did not partake in the transaction.
“She is a member of my church, Jesus Solution Ministry. I
was in Port Harcourt (Rivers State) for a ministry on November 18 when I was
arrested.”
Nwako, 49, said, “I attended Adaeze’s ministry. I told her
that my elder sister needed somebody to be helping her because of her health
condition.
“When Kingsley brought the boy to her, she called me.
Kingsley and I took the boy to my sister in Anambra State. He said he wanted
the boy to be taken care of, but he needed N120,000 to pay house rent.
“I only helped my sister. Her daughter is observing her
national youth service in Nasarawa State.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, said
the case came to the knowledge of the command on October 29, 2017, through
Yanga’s mother, Olabisi.
The CP explained that Yanga was recovered at the Ajali
village, Anambra State, adding that the suspects would soon be charged to
court.
He said, “She reported that her seven-year-old son was
missing and all efforts to trace him had proved abortive.
“Based on the report received, the command deployed a crack
team of investigators drawn from SARS and arrested one Kingsley Oriaku. The
team interrogated Kingsley, who confessed that he had sold the victim, Gabriel
Yanga.
“He also confessed to have earlier sold his own child to an
orphanage for N190,000.”
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