A woman identified as Aminat Akanni, was on Tuesday, October 9, 2014, arraigned by the operatives of the Lagos state police at the CMS bus stop, Lagos Island for allegedly abducting two of her stepchildren and subsequently killing one of them by pushing her into a soak away pit over claims that her husband didn’t buy her son clothes for the Sallah festival.
On Friday, October 3, 2014, which was a day to the Sallah, her husband who is also the father of the victims Moshood Mubo had gone to the Adeniji Adele Police Division to report that the seven-year-old Lateef and four-year-old Nofisat were missing.
According to Punch reports, after the suspect’s arrest, she confessed to have abducted the two kids from Church Street, Lagos Island where they lived adding that she had killed the younger, child, Nofisat, by pushing her into soakaway beside a mosque in the Orile area.
The father of the children who hails from Ilorin, Kwara State, on Sunday, October 19, 2014 said his second wife, who he rented an apartment for in the Orile area, abducted the kids claiming that she wanted to “punish him for not buying Sallah clothes for her own son.”
He said, “I married Aminat in 2010. In order to avoid a crisis at home, I rented an apartment for her at Mosalashi Street, Alakara in Orile. She has only one son for me. His name is Yusuf. She does not come to Church Street, Lagos Island where I live with my first wife.
“What happened was that on the evening of Friday, October 3, when I returned from work- just a day to the Sallah celebrations- I sent the two children to go buy biscuits in front of the street. That was around 7pm. We expected them till around 9pm. I was shocked. I quickly rushed to the Adeniji Adele Police Division, and reported the incident.
“Believe me, I and their mother, Funmilayo, could not sleep all through that night. We were walking around throughout the night from one police division to the other, repeating the same thing. The whole Sallah celebration was a sad one as I looked for my two children. Little did I know that it was my second wife who sneaked into our area to abduct them.”
He added, “The following morning, around 11am, Aminat called me and heard me crying on the phone. I told her that we were looking for Lateef and Nofisat, she simply said, ‘All I know is that no one can kidnap my own son.’ I was shocked at her statement, but I never thought she was the one behind the whole trouble.
“It was six days later when the police arrested her that she then confessed that she committed the act because she claimed I was not taking care of her, and I had not bought sallah clothes for her son, which is not true. She had sneaked to our area, and asked the two kids to follow her to Orile. This is unimaginable for me.”
However, it was learnt that they went as far as their village to consult their relatives and get ‘spiritual help’.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, October 9,2014, a friend called them and disclosed that she saw Lateef with Akanni around the CMS Bus Stop, Lagos Island which they intimated the police immediately who waded into action and finally nabbed the suspect.
The suspect’s co-wife said, “Aminat killed my daughter. She made us to have a sorrowful Sallah. We were running around police stations. She said she wanted to punish me and my husband because she was having issues with us. So, why did she not come after us, why after my two children?”
Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu,said, “Aminat Akanni is the second wife of the complainant. Investigation revealed that the corpse of Nofisat was recovered by the Orile Division in a sudden and unnatural death.
“The suspect confessed to have drowned the child and dropped the corpse at Orile. The case has now been transferred to the Orile Division for further synchronisation and action.”
