A young lady, (names withheld), who was accused of attempting to kidnap two children yesterday, narrowly escaped being lynched by an angry mob in Wuse market.
An eyewitness, Danladi Yakubu, said trouble started when two children – a boy, 4 years and a girl, 3; who were wearing Hausa attire, were trying to change their clothes into some western dresses an Igbo lady had just bought for them.
The Lady was promptly accosted by suspicious traders to explain her relationship with the children and was almost mobbed when she could not give satisfactory answers.
Yakubu said, “They asked the lady the names of the children and she said the boy’s name was Emeka; but when asked, the boy said he was AbdulRashed, and from Zaria. That was when the mob got angry and wanted to beat up the lady, but for the swift intervention of some Policemen who immediately whisked her away to Wuse Police station.”
The Chief Superintendent of Police, Wuse Police station, Haruna Garuba however said the situation was not a case of kidnapping, rather, a misunderstanding caused by the problem of communication.
Garuba explained that the lady came to the market to buy clothes for the children’s end-of-year party in school tomorrow with the permission of their parents.
He said, “The children were the children of the gateman to the lady’s brother, but she personally brought the children to pick-up some clothes, because their mother was still nursing a new baby, while their father was pre occupied with his work as the gateman.”?
He further said that they have been released as there was no case.
The parents of the children, who were writing a statement for reference purpose, also confirmed to LEADERSHIP that their children were not kidnapped.