A yet to be identified man on Monday successfully traded a 15-year old
boy, Seun Aderinwale, for two bags of rice valued at N20,000 at Igando
in Alimosho area of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.
According to
eyewitness account, the man, whose address is unknown, went to 4,
Ifesowapo Street, Igando, on Monday morning to buy two bags of rice from
a shop owned by a woman identified as Iya Ibrahim.
•Seun Aderinwale: Exhanged for 2 bags of rice
•Seun Aderinwale: Exhanged for 2 bags of rice
The
rice seller was not available at the time but her son, Ibrahim, agreed
to the man’s proposal to drop Seun, an Aluminium apprentice, as
collateral, in order to collect the two bags of rice and return later to
pay.
However, when the shop owner returned in the afternoon, she
was surprised to see Seun who was dropped there in exchange for the two
bags of rice taken away by the unidentified man.
When the man
failed to return, the 15-year old was held hostage until evening when
the pastor of his church, a Celestial Church of Christ around the area,
saw him at the shop looking despondent.
When Seun was questioned
on how he came about the fraudster, he said he met him casually at Hotel
Bus
Stop about 300 metres to his residence where a church member had
sent him on an errand to play lotto, popularly known as “Baba Ijebu”.
Seun said he did not know the man’s house or have other information about him.
The
teenager later regained his freedom when the Celestial Church pastor,
known simply as Oluso in the neighborhood, settled the matter with Iya
Ibrahim, the rice seller.
He said the woman should take
responsibility for one of the stolen bags of rice while Seun’s father, a
co-worker with him in the church, should pay for the other bag of rice
when he returned from his trip to Ifo in Ogun State. Seun’s father
agreed to pay N10,000 for the bag of rice when he returned from Ifo.
P.M.NEWS learnt that the rice seller agreed to the pastor’s proposal and did not report the matter to the police.
“If
I report the incident to the police, I cannot leave the station without
spending money. Therefore, it is better for me to accept the proposal
by Oluso, the rice seller told residents who gathered in front of her
shop to watch the drama.
When Ibrahim was questioned why he
allowed such an unusual arrangement, he told residents that the conman
asked for two and half bags of rice, adding, “when the motorcycle was
about to go with the two bags, I asked for the money but Seun assured me
he was coming back for the half bag. He even claimed to be a close
relation of the man.”
However, some hours after the man had
disappeared and failed to return, Ibrahim said Seun retracted his
earlier statement, saying he did not know the man.
