TWO ISLAMIC CLERICS KIDNAPPED ME — SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY

L-R: Muhammed Kazeem and Ahmed Rasak
Two Islamic clerics, Muhammed Kazeem and Ahmed Rasak, have found themselves in a mess after a six-year-old boy (name withheld) identified them as the mastermind of their disappearance from home for four days.

The police, who are detaining the men in Lagos, also accused them of collecting N150,000 from the parents of the boy, Mr. and Mrs. Aziz Bashiru, in order to do special sacrifice for the boy's recovery after he was stolen from his house at Ilogbo, Ajamgbadi area of the state.

Spokesman of Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, told Punch METRO that the boy was kidnapped from his house on August 27 and after a frantic search for him, the parents decided to seek spiritual help.

'The two Alfas were family friends and usually pray for them. So, they said the family had to get clothes from a corpse to do a special prayer for the boy's recovery. At the end of the day, they got N150,000 from the family and did the special prayer and sacrifices. Eventually, the boy was seen somewhere not far from the house.

'The tale, however, got a twist when the child told his father that it was Alfa Kazeem that took him from the house to another place with the promise of buying snacks for him. The father reported the matter to the police at Ilemba Hausa and eventually, the two men were arrested,' Mba said.

Bashiru said that he initially did not suspect that the men were behind his son's disappearance. 'I called Alfa Kazeem that morning to come and check my two children. One was suffering from cough and the other from pile. It was later that I was called from Apapa where I was selling CDs that my first child was missing.

'The following day, Alfa Rasak advised me to seek spiritual help and I agreed. By that time, we had gone to six different police stations including Ajamgbadi, Ojo, PPL, Okokomaiko, Iyana Isasi and Ijanikin; all of them could not help us. Later, Alfa Kazeem said we would use the clothes that a corpse wore before he was buried. Alfa Kazeem got the clothes for N150,000 and it was when the child came home that he told us that it was Kazeem that led him away from the house in the first instance,' he said.

The child, who also spoke with PUNCH METRO, insisted that it was Kazeem that took him away. Even when our correspondent tried to confuse him that Rasak and not Kazeem took him away, he stuck to his gun. 'Alfa Kazeen said I should come and buy puf-puf with N50 for me. When we did not see it there, he said he would take me to another place and he took me to one old man. The man gave me food; I did not eat and I said I wanted to go home. Then Alfa Kazeem came to take me,' he said.

However, Kazeem said that the child indicted him because of the sacrifice he did, 'I told the parents that after the sacrifice, my spirit will locate the child and he would see me as if I was the one that took him away from the house. I offered to do the sacrifice myself because none of his family members were willing. I bought those clothes to help the family. I did not swindle them,' he said.

Also, Rasak said that he suggested spiritual help because he trusted Kazeem. 'Why will I want to swindle the family? The wife is like my sister. The family brought me to Lagos to start practising Islamic cleric job. My intention was to help the family,' Rasak said.

But Mba said police investigation would continue, 'And all the people implicated in the mess will be charged to court,' he said.