2nd March, 2011
Two middle-aged women, Deborah Adebiyi and Olaide Adejumo, have been arrested by the police in Ibadan, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria over the mysterious disappearance of six-month-old twins.
Adebiyi, popularly called “Iya Eleja,†of Idiobi area of Ibadan, and Adejumo also called “Iya Alaso,†are traders at the New Gbagi market, on the old Ife Road, Ibadan.
Credible sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the twins were allegedly taken away by an unidentified costumer of their grandmother, Adebiyi, under the pretext that she was going to buy biscuit for them, but never returned with the babies.
Adebiyi is the mother of Nafiu, the father of the twins.
It was learnt that the unidentified costumer had visited the market on Feb. 22 to buy N1,500 worth of fish from Adebiyi when the incident occurred.
Adebiyi was reported to have told the police that when the costumer opted to buy biscuit for the twins in the market, she ordered her last daughter, Miss Ikeola Adebiyi, to accompany them.
It was gathered that the costumer later decided to veer into the shop of Mrs. Olaide Adejumo, the second suspect.
Sources told NAN that it was while she was in Adejumo’s shop that the customer claimed to be a police woman serving at the airport.
While in the shop, it was gathered, the woman picked one of the head gears being sold by Adejumo and gave it to Ikeola to go and deliver it to an unnamed police woman at the Airport Police Post, while she pretended to be waiting in the shop with the twins.
NAN was told that before Ikeola could return to the shop, the woman had disappeared with the twins.
NAN also learned that a Customary Court had in December 2010 granted custody of the twins to their grandmother after it had dissolved the marriage between Kadija Adebiyi, the mother of the twins, and her husband, Nafiu.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olatunji Ajimuda, told NAN that he had yet to receive details of the case, but promised that the police would track down the culprits.