Blessing, Anani and Akuvi
Sojine Ananis, the 28-year old father of stolen three-year-old child, Blessing, was released by the police after spending nine days in the custody of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos for taking a neighbour he suspected of stealing his child to a seer.
SATURDAY PUNCH KUNLE FALAYI had last week reported how Blessing was stolen through the window of a bedroom where she slept with her mother and two siblings on May 26, 2014 in the middle of the night.
Blessing has not been found and each passing day, the agony of her parents increases.
The aggrieved father was bitter and at the same time depressed. His voice quaked as he spoke with our correspondent.
He said that with the disappearance of his child, a part of him was dead.
Blessing was the apple of his eyes and nothing anybody would say could console him. The young man has become dishevelled and does not seem to care much about his appearance. He said he had not bathed for days.
He lamented, saying “What does anybody want to tell me? That my child would be found? My child has been missing for more than two weeks. Who would help me? Is it such a bad thing to come to Nigeria to make a living for myself and my family? My family has been abandoned to our woes.
“The police that were supposed to help me locked me behind bars. May God judge those policemen. I have nobody but God who would judge them. All they want is money, they have told me nothing and they don’t seem to be looking for my child at all. My only prayer is that my daughter would end up in the hands of a childless person, not a ritualist. I don’t want to imagine that my child has been killed.”
Sojine said he had been unable to sleep or eat much since his daughter’s disappearance and to compound issues, the health of Blessing’s grieving mother, Akuvi, seems to be deteriorating everyday.
“My wife can no longer stay in Nigeria because she is going mad with grief. I am sending her and my other two children back to Togo so that they can be taken care of by my parents,” he said.
However, our correspondent learnt that Sunny, the Ananis’ neighbour whom they suspected of carrying out the theft of their daughter, is still in police custody.
Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, said investigation was still ongoing in the case.