Mystery surrounds missing three-year-old boy in Lagos

Missing 3yr old boy - AbdulMuqsit

 When Mrs. Omowunmi Adeleke left her children, AbdulMuqsit, three-year-old, and his brother, AbdulMauteen, five-year-old, in the care of a neighbour identified simply as Mrs. Sanusi (Iya Mistura), on September 29, 2010, and headed for the Mile 12 Market to buy foodstuffs, she never had the premonition that one of the children would become missing before she returned from the market.


But on her return, she discovered that three-year-old AbdulMuqsit was missing from her residence at Maidun, Mile 12 area of Lagos. Since then, the whereabouts of the boy have remained unknown and none of the neighbours could explain the mystery surrounding his disappearance.

Omowunmi told PUNCH METRO on Saturday that she was still devastated at the disappearance of her second son. “How on earth can I lose such a precious son? What on earth could I have done to deserve such a torment?” she said.

She said, “On September 29, 2010, my baby, AdbulMuqsit, and AbdulMauteen were sleeping in the room and I went out with their father, Mr. Tobi Adeleke. When I came back, I closed one of the doors of our two rooms. I did not lock it with keys, I just closed it. I told my neighbour, Iya Misturat, to help me look after the children and she should be checking them for me. She agreed and I left for the market.

“On my way back, she (Iya Mistura) was ‘flashing’ my phone repeatedly. I wondered what the problem was. I thought maybe the children had woken up and that was why she was ‘flashing’ me. When I got home, I was surprised when my neighbour asked me where my baby was. I asked her, ‘Are you not the one that I told to look after them, so, why are you asking me again?‘ Iya Mistura said she thought that I came back and carried AbdulMuqsit when she was sleeping in her room. And I said, ‘no.’

“She told me that she put on the television for the elder brother, who later slept off beside his brother after watching for a while.
“Iya Mistura said when she saw that it was about raining, she packed my clothings that were spread on the lines and took them to my room.

“She said when she got into my room, she noticed that my son was no longer there. We then started looking for AbdulMuqsit. Up till now, we have not seen my son.”

Omowunmi said she later lodged a complaint at Ketu Police Station. She added that the police later invited Iya Mistura for questioning but she was released after she had explained that she did not know anything about the disappearance of my baby.

Omowunmi , who clarified that she did not suspect her neighbour of having a hand in her son’s disappearance, urged the authorities and kind spirited Nigerians to assist her to find him.

The police in their crime diary extract on October 1, confirmed the disappearance of AdbulMuqsit.
The entry was made by one Insp. Onoja, while Woman Police Cpl. Okpaleke was detailed to investigate the matter.
The Acting Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday also confirmed the incident but did not give much details.

Source: Success Nwogu - Punch Newspaper