Soka community in Ibadan, Oyo State became a centre of attraction on
Saturday, when an abandoned property at Idi Mangoro area was discovered
with about 15 chained people suspected to have been kidnapped. About six guns and several cutlasses were also recovered from the house beside it said to belong to Black Horse Plastic factory.
The discovery was said to have been made when some people who were
looking for their missing family member, an okada rider, stumbled on the
building situated in an undeveloped part of the community, and from
where they were hearing voices. On entering the building, the people who
made the discovery reportedly met the inmates who were highly
malnourished, but by the time reporters got to the scene, only six of
them- three males and three females were met.
One of them was looking like a skeleton and in the throes of death with
his mouth hanging open while he groaned in pain as flies hovered around
his mouth, nose and eyes. Human bones were also found inside a well in
front of the eight-room building said to belong to Ponti Construction
Company.
The building beside it, it was learnt, also belonged to Black Horse
Plastic Company. Also, many shoes, bags, clothes and other accessories
were found in two containers which stood beside the house while mobile
numbers 08140574774 and 07038651723 with the name ’Friba’ and
08061197191 with the name ‘Koko Aram’ were also written on the inside
wall of the building. Identification cards with names such as Mr Rafiu
Alamu (tanker driver) and national identity and First Bank ATM cards
belonging to one Mrs Janet Motunrayo Lemo were also found at the scene.
Some of the inmates were said to have run for dear lives immediately
their chains were loosened. One of the female inmates told newsmen that
she was delivered of a baby on Friday and the baby was immediately taken
away. Evidence of being a new mother could be seen as she had blood
stains around her.
As operatives of Operation Burst and policemen from Sanyo arrived at the
scene, four men who claimed to be security guards were arrested from
the building belonging to Black Horse. One of them who spoke with
journalists gave his name as Abideen Akanmu, saying that he was brought
to the building by one Gbadamosi to watch over the house inmates. He
further disclosed that Gbadamosi used to bring people who were dirty
looking. “We would bring them and shave their heads,” he disclosed. A
member of the community who spoke anonymously told reporters that he got
a call from neighbours and
“when I got there, I saw people who were like mad people but on a closer look, I saw that they were not really mad, but had gone through starvation. Some of them said they had been there for two years while others said seven months. “I was told that some of them died from starvation. That was why I called the chairman of Oluyole Local Government, Prince Abass Alesinloye so that he could see things himself.”
Another community leader, Dr Amodu Akeem, a lecturer at Lead City University also said:
“At about 10.45am, I received a call from a neighbour who intimated me
of the discovery in our community. “When I got there, I discovered that
they were not mad people as they spoke Yoruba and English fluently. They
were about 15. That prompted us to alert the local government
chairman.” They both appealed to the government to intensify patrol in
the neighbourhood as the community had become endangered with what was
discovered. One of the inmates who gave his name as Tunji Alabi said he
was a conductor when he was abducted and brought to the house. He said
he had spent seven months.
A community member also alleged that the security guards were just
disguising, labelling them as killers. He said the kidnapped people were
sane but were malnourished. He also added that all of them were met
chained.
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