Emmanuel said the suspect, identified as Mama Ifunaya, who was a neighbour, lured him into her room, strangled him, covered his mouth with clothes before tying him up with rope to prevent him from screaming.
"I wanted to draw water and take my bath before going to school when she told me to come. I went because I know her; she is Mama Ifunnaya. But when I got to her side, she threw me inside her room… she closed her net. She then tied me and put me inside a box. "I wanted to shout, but I could not shout properly. I heard my mummy's voice when she was looking for me, but I could not shout. She (pointing to the suspect) is a wicked person."The victim was kidnapped at the Ologede, Majidun, Ikorodu area. He was said to have been rescued by a mob, which equally beat up the suspect to a pulp. The mother of four was said to have led the mob to a church, saying a prophet sent her to bring the boy.
Punch correspondent reported that the mob forced their way into a house near the church, but discovered that the prophet had fled. They were said to have found in the house photographs of previously missing people, mats and calabashes containing unknown substances, including a mentally-challenged man.
The victim's mother, Mrs. Gloria Emeka, who explained that she never suspected her neighbour because while she was searching for her child, the suspect was in her room with her children praying and shouting "holy ghost fire."
She said she later discovered it was a ploy to prevent her from hearing Emmanuel's screams."Later, we saw her leaving the house with a box on her head. She said she was travelling. It was my landlady that challenged her why she could go out when everybody was busy searching for Emmanuel. "The landlady asked her to stop, but she suddenly increased her pace and started running. That was how the landlady shouted, 'kidnapper, kidnapper', and people ran after her."
The box was said to have fallen, and when it was opened, the missing boy was found in it.
