Samuel Udoetuk Wills and John Oji
Family members of a fourth girl, whom they are claiming was also kidnapped, have said the remains discovered at Nkroful New Site in Takoradi by the police could be that of their missing girl.
Already, one more suspect has been arrested in Nigeria in connection with the case involving the three missing Takoradi girls.
The arrest of Chika John Nnodim on 5th August 2019 brings the number of arrested suspects in the case to three.
The latest revelation that a fourth girl has gone missing and is yet to be found has sparked debate that she might have also been kidnapped.
According to the family members, Rose Abakah, 16, had gone missing at Diabene, a suburb of Takoradi in the Western Region for over a year now.
A certain Evangelist Veronica Cobbinah, who claimed to be the grandmother of Rose Abakah, narrated that on 18th July 2018, Rose went to Diabene Methodist Church but never returned home.
She claimed that when she got back from church her grandchild was not at home and was only told by her friends that Rose received a call and left the Sunday school service.
She claimed that the police in the area assisted the family in the payment of ransom to the kidnappers but the girl never came back.
Evangelist Cobbinah added that various announcements to trace the girl were unsuccessful and reported the case to the Kojokrom Police and the Sekondi Police but to no avail.
“I had to leave for the United States of America only to hear on the Internet of the kidnapping of the three girls,” she said, adding that “the police only allowed us to pay GH¢300 to some guys who called later that the child was with them and that we should go to the main road to receive her but we couldn’t get my granddaughter.”
“We reported to the police that we couldn’t find my granddaughter. They took us to Sekondi but the back and forth was just too much although they said they were in search of her. Later, we received a call from a group of people who were demanding GH¢35,000 before they could release our relative. So, we reported this again to the police because we suspected it was kidnapping,” she narrated.
“The police officers took all our statements then the next day the guys were just calling us and the police at Kojokrom were bargaining with them. Finally, they came to a conclusion that whatever we have we can give it to them. And the police told us that if that is the case we should give them (kidnappers) something; maybe my granddaughter will come back,” she added.
An elder sister of the missing girl, Matilda, also corroborated the story and said the family made some payments to the suspected kidnappers who talked to her to get her sister released but to no avail.
“The one who spoke to me said they had used my sister’s name to register for MTN Mobile money so we should make the payment through that number which we did.
“At the time, I was working with MTN so I gave the number to my boss and we realised that they used my sister’s National Health Insurance card for the registration. So that was how we were convinced that she was in their custody. We have so far paid GH¢300 to them,” she recounted.
“We want the police to be quick about their DNA tests so that we can be comfortable with our lives. Right now, we are downhearted,” she added.
A fourth set of human parts was on Wednesday discovered at Nkroful New Site in Takoradi as part of investigations into the missing Takoradi girls’ case.
The remains were discovered at an uncompleted building where the main suspect in the kidnapping of the three girls, Samuel Udoetuk Wills, was re-arrested when he escaped from police custody in December 2018.
Meanwhile, the police had said it would take them four weeks to complete DNA tests on the parts to ascertain whether or not those are the parts of the missing girls in question.
After initially refusing police request for DNA tests to be conducted on their relations, the families of the three kidnapped Takoradi girls have now agreed to co-operate with the police
Psychologists Visit Family
Meanwhile, a team of psychologists has visited the homes of families of the three kidnapped Takoradi girls to prepare them for the impending DNA process.
Confirming the visit, Alexander Kuranchie, father of one of the kidnapped girls, said that the visit was the second since their children got missing about a year ago.
“They came to encourage us and assured us that government would do all it could to unravel the identity of the remains. But for me, reading my Bible and praying has been the greatest source of strength since my daughter left home almost a year ago,” he disclosed.
We Will Do DNA
Mr. Kuranchie also indicated he had changed his mind on the issue of DNA and forensic examinations, saying “although I really wanted to decline the DNA test but much advice and consultation have made me change my position.”
He added that after listening to other discerning individuals, we realized it was critical at this point to establish the identity of the human remains discovered and decide the way forward.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi