A 15-year-old boy Known as Ajala Samuel, was few months ago, used as a collateral by his parents to a Lagos trader, Iya Meta, who paid the family N8,000, in their bid to raise money for some urgent needs, but four months after handing him over, the little boy's whereabouts had yet to be known by the parents.
According to report by Naijapals Iya Meta allegedly loaned Samuel to some traders on the Lagos Island, who paid N72,000 for him.
The traders were alleged to have further given him out to another family in the state.
Two policewomen, identified as Titi and Funmilayo from the Ijora Badia division, were accused of harassing the family to refund the N72,000 paid to Iya Meta, failing which Samuel would be forced to work till October 2017 when the contract would expire.
Idowu Isiaka, the little boy's stepfather, disclosed to a correspondent that the family’s crisis started in June 2016 when he lost his job.
He said, “I worked as a security guard for a traditional ruler. When a banner displaying the man’s picture was stolen, I was put in a police cell for a week before I was released and told that I had lost my job.
“At that time, Ajala’s mother just had a surgery and she needed money for medications. I borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and started using it to work. Later, I had an accident with the motorcycle and broke a man’s leg. The motorcycle was seized from me and I was asked to raise money for the victim’s treatment.
“I called my wife and told her that we needed to raise money by all means. I told her about Iya Meta, who lived in the community and always said she needed teenagers to work for her. We agreed to take Ajala (Samuel) to her so we could raise some money,” he said, adding that Iya Meta offered them N8,000 as payment for the two months that Samuel would work for her.
39-year-old Kwara State indigene said at the expiration of the period, he was surprised that Samuel did not return home as agreed, adding that he went to Iya Meta’s house in the Ijora Badia area of the state and discovered she had packed out.
“When I called her on the telephone, she said she was in Seme (Benin Republic) on a business trip and she had taken the boy along. She apologised for not telling me. She said Ajala (Samuel) was at home and when she got home, I would speak with him. She didn’t call back that day.
“The following day, I called her and she told me that she had actually lied to me. She said the boy was with some people whom she had problem with. She told me the case was at the Ijora Badia Police Station and one officer Titi would tell us where the child was.”
Iya Meta, when contacted by a correspondent, denied collecting money for Samuel, adding that the police connived with some women to turn the case against her.
She claimed that her family had turned against her over the incident, adding that she had become a fugitive.
“At that time, two of my cousins came from the village to work in Lagos. I handed over the two girls to the women. They gave me N80,000 as advance payment for their service.
“It was a few weeks later that Ajala’s parents brought him and I gave them N8,000. The boy had barely spent a month when he attempted to escape. He told me that his parents had instructed him to run away after getting the money from me.
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