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We are super excited to announce that the three kids; 11-month-old Aderomola, four-year-old Adedamola, and six-year-old Demola Orekoya that were kidnapped by their house help (Mary Akinloye) over a week ago have been rescued – thanks to the efforts of the Nigerian Police and many kind Nigerians who remembered the family in their daily prayers. The father of the kids, Leke Orekoya, revealed on Wednesday to THISDAY that the kidnappers had put the children, including the 11-month-old baby in a bag, while in captivity. It was revealed that owing to the pressure of work, the couple had sought to employ a nanny via OLX, an online sales and marketing portal. Akinloye had applied and was hired. But exactly one day after she was employed and before the documentation process was concluded, Akinloye took the children out on the pretext that she wanted to buy biscuits for them, and then vanished into thin air. After their abduction, the kidnappers contacted the family and demanded a ransom of N15 million. The kidnappers later called the family and asked them to pick up their kids at an uncompleted building at the Egbeda area of Lagos. When the police escorted the parents to the site of the drop-off, they found all three kids naked but alive, although they had mosquito bites all over their bodies. The kids and the parents were then whisked off to the Cottage Hospital/Comprehensive Health Centre, Police College for medical checks. “I want to thank everyone that responded to our needs and stood by us, but we would like to have today to ourselves,” Mr. Orekoya said. Reacting to the eventual release of the kids, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, said investigations would continue until the kidnappers are behind bars. He said: “When we heard the news, we swung into action immediately and along the way, we started tracking the phone number of these kidnappers because they got in touch with the mother of the children. As at the day they were rescued, we had narrowed down the search to Shasha area. The heat was on because we decided to adopt the best technology available in the land to get these kidnappers. They knew we were already on their trail and when the heat was just too much for them, they had to abandon the kids and we went to rescue them. “No ransom was paid and we don’t encourage such. But the elite, not only in Lagos but all over the federation should know that whenever they are trying to employ a housemaid or driver or any personal staff who would have access to their homes, they must ensure that they reach out to the police so we can do background checks thoroughly.” He added that “What we find most disturbing is that they employ people they don’t know without checking their backgrounds. Over the period of three months, we have had such cases and one led to the loss of life because background checks were not made. “In this case, the maid was hired through the internet; someone they didn’t know or where she came from, employed her and within 24 hours entrusted her with three little kids.”   We are glad the children are safe and we encourage parents to be very careful with their children. Click here to learn basic security tips for keeping your children safe. If you have an emergency or would like to report a crime, please visit the nearest police station to you or click here  to find the fastest way to get help.  
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This article was first published on 17th April 2015

connectnigeria

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