A heart-wrenching tale of kidnapping, deception, and desperation has unfolded in the Iwaya area of Lagos, leaving a family in anguish and a community in shock. Five-year-old Mohammed Naziru was abducted by a woman who pretended to be a devout Muslim, covering herself with a hijab, while he was returning from the mosque with his eight-year-old sister.

The kidnapper’s con involved giving the older sibling N500 to buy yoghurt, while she held on to Naziru. When the girl returned, the woman had vanished with the young boy.

A frantic search ensued, but it wasn’t until four days later, on Monday, January 13, 2024, that the woman resurfaced in the community.

Naziru’s sister identified her as the kidnapper, and a mob quickly formed, intent on meting out justice. The timely intervention of policemen from the Sabo division saved the woman from being lynched.

However, in a shocking twist, the woman has refused to disclose Naziru’s whereabouts, instead pretending to be mentally deranged. Her act has left the boy’s family and investigators baffled.

“I got a call at about 1 pm last Friday, informing me that the woman who kidnapped my son had been found. I rushed to the house and found a mob descending on her. I begged them not to kill her because her death won’t bring my son back,” Alhaji Idris Adamu, Naziru’s father, recounted, his voice laced with desperation.

“I prayed fervently every day for the safety of my son and for the woman to be arrested. Indeed, God heard my prayer. The woman walked into the community, covering herself with the hijab, and was identified.

Immediately she sighted my wife, she started running, and when she was caught, she said she wasn’t the one who kidnapped our son without being asked.”

Adamu expressed his skepticism about the woman’s claimed mental state, pointing out inconsistencies in her behavior. “The woman is not mad; she is only pretending. When she was apprehended, we found some pieces of paper in her possession where she wrote an address where they should keep the boy and the injection they should give to him to put him to sleep.”

As the investigation continues, detectives at the SCID planned to take the woman to a psychiatrist’s home to ascertain her mental state. Adamu’s plea remains simple yet heartfelt: “All I want is my son. She should tell us where she kept him so that we can go get him before any harm befalls him.”