7-year-old kidnapped in Ogun, family accuses police of demanding tracking fee

A 7-year-old girl, Mercy Akande, who is the daughter of a female Point-of-Sale operator in Ogun State has been reportedly kidnapped by an unnamed man.

The incident, which occurred on Monday, December 23, 2024, has drawn concerns from Nigerians on the social media platform, X, amid calls to check the high corruption rate within the Nigeria Police Force.

This was disclosed in a tweet on Wednesday, December 25, 2024, by a tweep, Miyakee, tweeting as #mimara_concept.

Miyakee noted that the alleged kidnapper who is a regular customer of the POS agent, has a good relationship with Akande, buying food items and gifting the young girl money whenever he is around.

However, things took a twist on Monday morning when the man reportedly sent the girl on an errand to get him a sachet of water. As the girl approached the store on her way back, the man was said to have met her halfway.

On seeing this, the unsuspecting mother was reportedly annoyed but her attention span didn’t last long as she was busy with her customers at the store. Moments later, the man and her daughter were nowhere to be found.

“My cousin is missing. She was kidnapped by a stranger on the 23rd of December, 2024. The mom, my aunty, does POS business at Sango, Ogun State. She has a male customer who usually comes to withdraw money and buy recharge cards.

“He doesn’t stay in the area. He became friends with the little girl and was always buying her food and gifting her money whenever he came to the store. On the morning of the 23rd, he came to the store and bought food for himself and the little girl as usual. The mom was busy attending to other customers.

“He sent the little girl (a 7-year-old girl) to go get pure water for him. On her way back, he approached her halfway to get the pure water from her. The mom saw this and wasn’t comfortable with it but was distracted by the attention of other customers.

“By the time she turned towards the daughter’s direction to check what was happening, the guy and her daughter were nowhere to be found. They searched everywhere for them but to no avail. She tried calling the customer (she had his phone number). He picked up and said he was at Sango under the bridge and that he was going to call her back. Up till now, he has refused to answer his call. Now the number is no longer reachable. We still cannot find my cousin. This is the phone number of my aunt’s customer, the kidnapper: 07072823833.”

The tweep noted that the matter was reported at a police station in the Sango area of the state. However, police officers had allegedly demanded the sum of N40,000 from Akande’s mother to cover the reporting of the case for N10,000 and the suspect’s tracking fee of N30,000.

“#Princemoye1, #BenHundeyin, they have reported to a police station in Sango and the struggling mum has been asked to pay a total of N10,000 to report the case (she has done that). And to bring N30,000 for the guy’s phone number to be tracked. She’ll be going back there tomorrow to pay.

“As it is now, work hasn’t even started. She only paid N8,000 to write her statement at the station and a total of N2,000 to print out pictures of the missing girl. Then to track the phone number, she has to pay the sum of N30,000 and get a court affidavit to take to MTN’s office.

“Now, she can’t get a court affidavit because of the holidays. So, we’re waiting for the 27th to pay the N30,000 and get the court affidavit. Omo, it’s crazy,” the tweep lamented.

When contacted by our correspondent, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola replied via an SMS, saying, “I’ll get back to you.”

However, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, tweeting as #Princemoye1, responded to the tweet when he was tagged.

Adejobi expressed surprise at the alleged demand for money by the officer, labelling it as “inhuman and unprofessional.”

However, he asked Akande’s family to reach out to him, as he assured them that he’d personally handle the case.

“For a missing person? Asking for money to track? That’s inhuman and unprofessional. Let the family get to me pls. I need to handle it myself. Let them Send me an SMS on my line. Thanks.”