Detained housemaid of the suspected kidnappers of the
Orekoya kids has been released by the police.
Henrietta Otobo (16) was released to her parents, Mr and Mrs
Anthony Otobo, at the Lagos Police Command in Ikeja yesterday.
The Orekoya kids -Adedamola, Ademola and Aderomola- were
allegedly kidnapped by their nanny, Funmilayo Adeyemi aka Mary Akinloye who
Henrietta works for as maid.
The command spokesman, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of
Police (DSP), said she was released to show that the police were only
interested in justice.
Nwosu said Henrietta’s parents, came from Delta State to
identify and reunite with their daughter.
Mr Otobo, a chartered accountant, told reporters that he
learnt that Henrietta got missing last November 12 from her younger brother,
Emmanuel.
He said: “I live in a duplex and my kids occupy the rooms
downstairs. So when Emmanuel came that his sister was missing, I ran outside
searching for her only to discover that the four doors leading to the gate were
open. The following day, I went to the
nearest police station in Delta State and reported a case of a missing child.
On our own we searched every other place that we felt she could have gone to
without success.
“I was shocked when on April 17; I saw her face on one of
the national dailies. I was thankful to God that she is alive”
Confronted with Henrietta’s claim that he did not allow her
to pursue her dream, Otobo said he only heard about that when he saw her at the
police command.
“I am a professional accountant. I can never stop her from
taking to her life ambition to be an actress. If she wants to be an actress it is
okay with me. I don't think I will deny her such ambition if that is her
destiny. I bought that phone for her and her siblings. I am going to do more
for her. Even the JAMB she took, she passed and got admission from Delta State
Polytechnic.”
Mrs Rosemary Otobo said Henrietta’s disappearance was a
surprise “because we do not normally have visitors in our house. She does not
have friends. We did not know where to start looking for her. We checked the
motor park, relations’ houses with no sign of her.
“The following morning we went to the police station and
reported. We gave them her photograph and it was flashed on Delta State
Television without any positive result. We left everything in the hands of God.
“Sometimes, I kept hearing her voice and I continued to
pray. When I asked her daddy, he said it’s a sign of desperation, he told me
she will return home soon. She has never been offended, she never lacked love.
We used to give her whatever she wanted or stood for. She is the last child of
my five children.”
Henrietta said the desire for freedom made her left home.
“My parents gave me everything I needed; I only wanted to be
on my own. I wanted freedom. I did not want to depend on anybody that was why I
went in search of job, unfortunately I fell into the hands of kidnappers. I
took the job to work as a maid and they agreed to pay me N10, 000 monthly. I
did not know that they were kidnappers till we were arrested,” she said.
Nwosu said efforts were being intensified to get others
involved in the Orekoya kids’ kidnap saga.
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