Thirty Five year old Funmilayo Adeyemi, the nanny who used the pseudo name, Mary Akinloye, to kidnap the three kids of the Oresanya family in Surulere area of Lagos State has been arrested by the police.
The suspect, however, insisted that “they [the children] did not miss their mother. They did not miss their home. They always told me to put cartoon in the CD for them and they were not crying."
Funmilayo also confessed to the Nigerian Tribune that her husband actually collected ransom from the parents of the kidnapped children, an undisclosed amount she said was paid into a bank account, before they were abandoned at Shasha area of Akowonjo.
The suspect claimed to have been instigated into the illicit act by her husband, his brother in-law and his wife, who all allegedly threatened to kill her.
She also stated that she had, some months ago, been used for a similar role in Magodo area of Lagos State, where they collected N2 million before two children, one Raphael and Michael, were released
Funmilayo narrated: “I was at home when my brother in-law's wife came and said some people were looking for housemaid and that I should go. I said 'you did not tell me before, how can I be doing housemaid?' My husband and his brother now came, they said they wanted to use me to extort money. I went and the woman employed me. I stayed for four days at Magodo, Isheri and from there, I kidnapped the children on Sunday.
"It is my brother in-law's wife that checked the OLX and saw the woman's number before she gave me. I called the woman and she said I should come to PWD. I actually told her I was staying at Ikorodu, so she told me to move in the next day. I then moved in, she was very nice to me.
"On Wednesday, I called my husband and his brother and they said I should be coming home. I was told to take the children along, because that was why I was there. I came down, I put the 11-month-old baby on my back and held the four-year-old and six-year-old. We came out of the gate and boarded a bus going to Ojuelegba and from there to Iyana Ipaja and we came down under the bridge and took a bike.
"When I got home, I told them I was not happy and that they should do whatever they want to do quickly and return the children."
When asked how she took the children away, Funmilayo, an OND graduate, said, “it was easy. I backed Aderomola, the baby and I took the other two in my hands. I told them that we wanted to go and buy something."
She further narrated: “When I took the children home, my husband lodged me in a hotel for a few days and he was the one talking to the father of the children.
"My husband only told me that he wanted to collect a token from their parents and when I was listening to the news and heard that he was demanding for N15 million, I confronted him and he promised to reduce it.
"When I saw on television again that they were demanding for N13 million, I spoke with him to pity the mother of the children, because I saw her crying on TV."
Olufunmilayo insisted that "it was my brother in-law, Akeem Kareem, his wife, Joke and my husband, Waheed Kareem, that did the business. They only used me as a nanny to get the children.
"It was my sister in-law, Joke that searched for the job at OLX and gave me the phone number of the woman. She cannot do the nanny job because those people will suspect her. I am the one that handled that aspect."
On how the children were being fed during the period, the Osun State-born suspect said, "I knew that the baby was taking Cerelac and I bought it for him and he was taking it, while others were taking their normal food."
She also stated that she had, a few days ago, seen some policemen, who were looking for her, but she escaped as the policemen did not visit their apartment.
"Some days ago, I saw some policemen in my area. I quickly ran inside and called my husband, who assured me that there was no problem and that I should not worry myself," the suspect said.
She also confessed that "this is not the first time that we are doing it. The first one was Raphael and Michael. We were staying in Ajah then. That is why we relocated to Shasha."
"I took the two kids about four days after I got the nanny job in Magodo and the parents paid N2 million, but I was given only N30,000 as my share."
The police also rescued a 16-year-old girl, Odili Henrietta, house girl to the Orekoya's nanny who was lured to Lagos from Benin, Edo State, after being promised a househelp job through an online portal.
Henrietta, who was also brought from Benin by the syndicate to work as househelp in Lagos, told the Nigerian Tribune that "I never suspected that they were kidnappers but I saw the children.
"I was working as a househelp in their house. Initially, I was a sales girl, but now, I help in cleaning the house and taking care of the girls."
She added that "they told me that the kidnapped kids were members of their family and that they were spending the holiday with us and I believed them."
The state Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, while speaking on the arrest of the suspects, said "it is a beautiful story."
He added that "policing is about science, not about voodoo. We arrested her. Sensing that the police were closing in on them, the gang split. Adeyemi and the gang was said to have evacuated their home in Coker Estate. She was, however, arrested along with her maid. Detectives have started trailing the fleeing members."
A police source, however, revealed how a trap was set for the kidnappers.
He said: “though the suspect and gang members were demanding N15 million, I gathered that SARS detectives instructed the Orekoyas to pay a fraction of the ransom into the account of an unnamed bank.
“The account was opened in Ibadan, Oyo State. Detectives discovered a link between the contact number on the account and that of the nanny. The gang withdrew N400,000 from the account via ATM.”
According to the source, detectives set up surveillance on the account and calls on the mobile phones of members of the syndicate.
Leke Orekoya said the police had instructed them not to divulge the amount paid.
“Due to ongoing investigation and in line with police directives, we shall not disclose the amount paid,” Orekoya said.
The kidnappers requested that the money be paid into the account of an undisclosed bank, a ploy which the police asked him to comply with to track the kidnappers.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO, Kenneth Nwosu, denied knowing if any ransom was paid by the Orekoyas.
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