The spate of kidnappings or should we say child
abduction hasbecome increasingly alarming as new cases emerge on a daily. It used
to be on the outskirt of Calabar, but the crime has now been taken to the suburbs of other local government like Odukpani, Akpabuyo among others.
Fear and uncertainty gripped the people of Akwa Ikot Effanga Community in Akpabuyo Local government of
unidentified gun men stormed the community and forcefully took away
three children from the same parents in one swing.
The incident which occurred on October 3, 2014 is just one of the many cases that has remained unsolved till today and has brought sleepless nights to both residents and indigene of the community because its an evil wind blowing in their place. More so, the
incessant occurrence in recent times has become so alarming in Akpabuyo that the people can only pray for Gods intervention.
Narrating the incident, a 48 year old Aunty to the Children, Deaconess Arit Daniel Effiong who was an eye witness said on the early hours of that day at about 3:am in the morning men numbering five broke their door and entered pretending to be members of a vigilante group.
She said “they harassed me and my cousin’s wife who brought her children to visit their sick grandfather asking us to produce the thieves that ran into our house to hide. But we told them that no one ever entered our compound but they insisted that they must search the
rooms. They took us into the rooms; unknown to us other members of the gang had carried who were sleeping in the parlour with her while we were conducting them round the rooms”
According to her, when the gunmen brought us back to the parlour the children were no where to be found while they (the gang members inside the house) ran to join others in the vehicle and zoomed off.
She gave the names of the children as Obo Effefiong Otu (8), Christiana Effefiong Ot(6),and Joseph Effefiong Otu(4) adding that since then the family has conducted series of search everywhere yet they have not been found.
When we met with the father of the three children in their Ikot Nakanda home, the father expressed his state of utmost confusion on the matter. Obviously affected by the psychological trauma he could barely speak with us.
In his words “up till this moment I am still confused on what really happened and what to do, because I cannot imagine how my threechildren could disappear just like that, if feels like a terrible dream that I am should wake up from, I still cant believe that my Joe, Christy and Obo are no where to be found”
“I don’t have issues with anyone both in my family and my place of work so I don’t know who could have done such evil to me, see my wife she is torn apart, our lives has been shattered by this incident, I have done everything humanly possible to find them ,something’s i cant
even mention to you, I have gone to places I wont naturally visit all in a bid to find my children yet to no avail, it is the end of the
world for me.The 30 year old father of the three missing children however appealed to governor of
Also speaking on the incident, the paternal grand mother of the three missing children pastor Mrs. Bassey Effiong told us that they were with her but had to visit her father due to his illness.
“My daughter in law and her children went to stay with my dad at Ikot Effanga where the incident occurred, every effort to locate the children has proved abortive till date, but I have surrendered everything to God to take charge.
When the State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Bassey Hogan was called on for confirmation, he was said to be out of his office for official assignment . But a senior police officer at the state CID of the police headquarters who preferred anonymity revealed that investigations on the matter is on going.
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