‘Torture Proprietress Of My Kids’ School To Tell Their Whereabouts’ – Father Tells Police

Sunday Ani, father of the three schoolchildren who mysteriously went missing from the Star Child Heritage Academy in Kabusa, Abuja, has called for the arrest of the proprietress of the school over the disappearance of his kids.

Speaking in an interview with THE WHISTLER on Tuesday, Ani said his children had barely spent a year and two months in the school before their disappearance.

The children – Sunday Marvelous, 8, Sunday Alex, 6, and Sunday Rehabort, 2, – disappeared on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

The teary-eyed father told our correspondent at the Wuse Zone 6 Magistrates’ court in Abuja that he had lost one of his children three years ago and cannot afford to lose his remaining kids.

He said, “Ever since I lost my kids, I haven’t sat up to 30 minutes or slept up to an hour. We have been busy looking for possible ways to locate my children. I feel sad, I lost one of my children three years ago when he was ten months old.”

Ani expressed displeasure that the school’s proprietress had not been arrested, dismissing claims that she is hypertensive as “lies”.

“The school has a gate, and it has security. How will they not be able to explain how the children left the school. The owner of the school must provide my children, when they detain and torture her, then she will tell Nigerians where my kids are.

“One of the teachers said to my brother that they don’t release children if they don’t know you, then he asked them, who did you release those children to and they couldn’t answer. Is my wife who usually goes to pick them up. If you are the person that picks up your child from the school when you get to the school, you will stand at the gate, the teachers will confirm you are the right person to take the kids even if the children know you.”

On how he first got to know about his children’s disappearance, he said, “I was in my shop when my wife called me and said that she can’t find the children when I asked whether they are back from school. She said that she had gone to their school twice with no clue of their way about. Then I left whatever I was doing and went home before I rushed down to the school.

“When I got to the school I saw both the teachers and the proprietress. Before then, I called the owner of the school to ask for my kids’ whereabouts, but she said I should calm down. On getting to the school I asked both the teachers and the proprietress of my children, she responded and said that she doesn’t know when the children were taken away. So, I left my brothers and some villagers that went round in search of my children to meet my wife who had already gone to report the case at the police station. My wife and the three teachers’ statements were taken.”

Ani, who stated that the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police have contacted him over the matter, expressed disappointment that the school’s proprietress failed to report the incident to the security agencies.

“All this while the woman who owns the school my children attend did not report to the police station. I was forced to ask the DPO where the owner of the school was because since the incident happened around 3 pm she didn’t report it. The most annoying part was when the DPO contacted the woman her number was off and we called her Personal Assistant (PA) after the DPO explained himself, the P.A hung up and refused to pick up further. DPO ordered DCO to take me, IPO, and the three teachers to the police command.”

While confident that his children would be found, Ani noted that their mother “hasn’t been herself” since their disappearance.

He said, “I always console her, that all hope is not lost and that our children will come back to us, with the belief that God gave us those children, and I didn’t go anywhere to get them, surely He will bring them back. I know that every beginning also has an ending, so our children must come back.”

On efforts taken so far to find them, he said “I rarely stay at home, I’m always on the move to know what can be done so that my children can come back to me.”

While holding back his tears, Ani said “I don’t sleep even when I try to, I will just wake up in shock. I never saw this coming. I love my children and they love me back. I have been a good father to them and they are also good children.”

“The last one Rehabort, whenever she’s dressed, usually come to wake me up to say ‘Daddy help me put on my school bag, then I will assist her and she goes back to sit on her chair to eat with her brother and sister. The first one, Marvelous always comes to say daddy we are off to school while Rehabort will say ‘daddy have good sales’ then the three of them will keep singing it as they leave for school.”

Ani pleaded with the government and the security agencies to help find his kids, saying: “I want the security agency and the government to help me find my children. I know they are still in Nigeria, and to fish out the perpetrators that are holding my children captive. I want my children back to me, to feel the motherly and fatherly love. Right now I don’t know the condition they are into, how they are feeding, and where they sleep. Please Nigerians, help me find my children. I Love them so much.”