| Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu |
When a couple in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, chose a school to send their children, they were hoping that teachers would make a lasting impact in the lives of the pupils.
But in a twist of fate, the parents were the ones who a teacher in the school chose to teach a lesson they would never forget.
Mrs. Abiola Kosoko told Chief Detective magazine how she has learnt to trust no one, after her children, Dolapo (9) and Tolulope (7) were kidnapped by their teacher, Kingston Sunday Asiegbu, who had been a staff of Imperial International School, Ijebu-Ode, since October 2013.
And there was much more to learn, when 27-year-old Asiegbu who was on a salary of N8000, also told Chief Detective in Abeokuta why he kidnapped the children.
He said: “I stole two pupils from the school where I was teaching. I’ve been teaching there since October 2013. One of them was in my class. I needed money to start a business, and I thought I couldn’t just save enough. I was being paid N8000 monthly.
“I graduated from the University of Jos in 2006. I read Accounting. I was well known in school.
“It was on July 8 that I told the children that we were traveling to Ebonyi State, and they agreed to follow me. So, I took them to Ebonyi State. When we got there, I started demanding for money from the parents. I asked them to send money, so that I could release the children.
“They agreed to pay N150, 000, instead of the N250, 000 that I requested for. That was my first time of trying such a thing.
“They asked me to give them an account number to send the money to; so I asked a friend to give me his account number, that somebody was going to send me money and I don’t have a bank account. He gave me the account number and N150, 000 was sent.
“I acted alone. I only called my old friend because I don’t have a bank account. I wanted to start selling clothes with the money. I’ve been working at Effium, in Ebonyi State as a teacher before I moved to Ijebu-Ode. Effium is my village; that’s where I was arrested.”
While recounting her experience, Mrs. Kosoko said: “I deal in fish business. I went to work on that day. By the time I came back, the children were not at home, so I had to go and check the school that was near the house. I didn’t see them there, so I thought they could be with their teacher who we call uncle. He used to bring the children home from school at times.
“Because I didn’t know the teacher’s house, I said let me go and cook first before I go and find them. I was, however, calling his number. It wasn’t going.
“When I finished cooking, a neighbor called me asking us to go and check Dolapo because it was getting late. So, we went to a staff of the school, who said uncle could have taken them to his house.
“I said no; it was getting too late, that uncle used to inform me whenever he wanted to take them home. I asked them to tell me the uncle’s address; they said they didn’t know. I said the father mustn’t hear. It was getting to 6pm then. They had never stayed out that long.
“We eventually got the house. While we were searching, I received a text message on my phone saying: ‘You’re in the wrong point. Your children have been kidnapped.’ I was with some teachers, and we all fell down crying. My husband was called. He contacted the kidnapper who asked him to pay N250, 000 per head if he wanted to see his children again. After that, he switched his phone off, since that Tuesday.
“We reported at Obalende Police Station. From there, the case was transferred to Eleweran. The phone was off till Thursday evening, when we received another message. The police were even thinking of arresting me. They locked up officials of the school.
“The new message I received says: ‘This is the account details. Send the teller to me.’ I passed the message to the police. I begged them to let me pay the ransom. They said that I should hold on. On Friday, they said they had tracked the suspect to a place in Ijebu East. That day, my husband arranged for a vehicle and they went there. They said he spoke with somebody at Ibafo. They couldn’t get him.
“I was on phone with him, negotiating how much I had on me. I begged that I had N150, 000. And he asked me to pay that first.
“The police eventually allowed me, so I went to Zenith Bank and paid. While the process was on, he was bombarding me with text messages, saying: ‘You’re delaying me. I give you two hours or else you won’t see your children again.
“I was scared. I rushed to the police that I must find the full money and pay quickly. They asked me to wait, but I went to the bank with my husband to pay. By 5pm, he called to tell me that he had received the alert. He gave the phone to my children to speak with me.
“They said, ‘Mummy, send the money so that we’ll come home tomorrow.’ They didn’t know he was selling them. They thought it was transport fare. He said he would bring them on Tuesday. But, when I saw the police on Monday, they were laughing. I told them that I had paid. They said they had cracked the case; that we must appreciate that the police are working.
“So, we went to Ebonyi together on Tuesday to bring the children back home.”
The police also arrested August Johnson, 47, a secondary school teacher at Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi, who the kidnapper used his bank account.
Ogun State police spokesman, DSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said: “To track the suspects down, detectives attached to the Criminal Investigations Department at Ogun State Police Command, Abeokuta, penciled down the account in the bank, when it was credited with N150, 000; and the suspects were arrested while making efforts to withdraw the money from that account with the help of the police informants placed on surveillance in Ebonyi State.
“Incidentally, the suspect had changed the names of the victims in Ebonyi. He changed the name of Tolulope Kosoko to Bishop, while that of Dolapo was changed to Turey. The suspects were arrested in Ohaukwu Ebonyi on July 15.
“The parents of the rescued victims are full of joy and have appreciated the effort of the police in rescuing the students. While the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye, has given kudos to the detectives who accomplished the feat, and encouraged the general public to always keep their kids in the hands of trusted persons who are of great repute in the community.”
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