Juliana Francis
Mrs Glory Osinachi is living and experiencing the worst nightmare of any mother.
The woman, who appeared to be in shock, said that her three children, all boys, had been stolen by a commercial cyclist on Friday 10th of May 2024.
It has been over 90 hours, but the children seem to have disappeared into thin air.
The incident, which happened at Amaoba Ime Oboro in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, has left members of the community reeling in shock.
According to many, such a horrendous act has never happened in the rustic community, where children were allowed to walk far distances, with many believing that everywhere around that axis was safe.
The children are eight-year-old Gideon Osinachi, six-year-old Divine Osinachi, and four-year-old Israel Osinachi.
Gideon is a primary two pupils, while Divine and Israel are both in Nursery 3 and Nursery 1 respectively.
Following the disappearance of the children, members of the community were said to have gone to the Commercial Cyclists Association, believing it might be able to help in locating the fleeing cyclist. However, that move turned out to be a dead end as executives of the association said they had no member with such a description. Meanwhile, the trail of the stolen children continues to grow cold.
The children’s mother, Glory, while speaking with our reporter, said: “It happened on Friday at about 4:pm while returning from my mother-in-law’s house.
“Whenever they are returning from school, they would stop over at my mother-in-law’s and then later they would walk home or take motorcycle. On that Friday, my mother-in-law put them on a motorcycle and paid the cyclist N100. The children’s school, my mother-in-law’s house and our house are within walking distance.”
The woman said she only got to know something was wrong after her mother-in-law, in her usual style came home to check on the children and it was discovered that they never got home.
Glory said: “The children closed school by 2:pm. My mother-in-law put them on the motorcycle when they were leaving. Sometimes she would call to check if they got home safely, other times she would come to the house to check. The children also used to walk home alone most time. This kind of thing has never happened before in this community.”
The woman, who said she is an apprentice learning how to sew, added commercial cyclists in the community were no longer only indigenes, adding that people from neighbouring Cross River and northerners were part of cyclists plying routes in the community.
The matter was reported at Isiala Police Station. Our reporter called the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), to find out the facts of the incident and if any arrests had been made, but he did not pick up his calls.
Glory’s family has implored Nigerians to contact them if they see the children. 07077201667, 08034270914
