The Lagos Police Command has rescued 15-year-old Ajala Samuel, who was
reported to have been used by her parents to get N8,000.
The police had already transferred the victim’s parents and others
alleged to have been involved in the case to the State Criminal Investigation
and Intelligence Department, Yaba.
Samuel’s parents ran into financial crisis after his mum became sick and
stepfather lost his job.
According to Punch, the family gave him to a Lagos trader, Iya Meta, and
collected N8,000 for him to work for the woman for two months.
Iya Meta was said to have further loaned him to three women on Lagos
Island, collecting N72,000 for his service. The trio were alleged to have
further given him out to a woman in Mushin area.
It was alleged that two policewomen from Ijora Badia division were
involved in the illegal deal.
Iya Meta, who called Punch on Thursday, had said she caught one of the
women and the matter was moved to the Adeniji Adele Police Division. It was
later transferred to Ijora Badia Division.
A source in the station said the innocent boy was loaned to a family in
Mushin.
He said, “It is a messy case. The parents used the boy to work and
collected money. The woman passed him to another set of women who then passed
him further to a 70-year-old woman. We rounded up all of them and transferred
them to the SCIID where they will be prosecuted.
“The victim told us in his statement that his father was still alive and
it was his stepfather and his mother that used him to make money because of
poverty. He said where they took him to, they were using him like a slave.
“It is not true that policewomen from this division aided some of the
suspects in the case. We have nothing to gain in it. It is an attempt to smear
the division, which has been investigating some high-profile crime cases.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said
investigations were ongoing, adding that the suspects would soon be charged to
court.
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