Ikimot Awojoju was overwhelmed with joy when she reunited with her family in the Oyingbo area of Lagos, after five years missing.

It was gathered that Ikimot lived with her guardian after her mother, Faidat Awojoju, died.

She reportedly went missing on her way back from school on July 23, 2014 and all efforts to find her by her guardian proved abortive.

Ikimot’s guardian, Ajoke Abass, said she sold her valuables to raise the money needed to search for her but all efforts to find her proved abortive.

Abass told PUNCH Metro that after two years, she stopped searching but kept on praying for the safe return of the girl.

The Kwara State indigene said Ikimot’s return was an indication that her prayers were answered as everyone had assumed that she was dead.

The mother of four said, “Ikimot’s mother was an area sister to me and we took each other as family members. She already had a child before she got pregnant with Ikimot. The man responsible was not ready to accept the pregnancy and she wanted to abort it. I advised her against it and stood by her throughout the course of the pregnancy until she put to bed.

“I was the one looking after the child, while she was going about her business, because I am self-employed. When Ikimot clocked two years, her father came to apologise and promised to assume responsibility for the child’s upkeep, but he did not keep to his promise after her mother died.

“Ikimot was three when her mother died in 2011 and none of her family members was ready to take over the responsibility of taking care of her and her brother, so, I decided to take it up since I was the one taking care of her before and I was the one that encouraged her mother not to abort the pregnancy; Ikimot was in my custody and I took her older brother to one of my brothers, who is a cleric, to help me train him in the Islamic way.

“On the day that Ikimot went missing, she did not come back from school at the usual time and after some time, I told my children to go and check her in the school. They returned to say that they could not find her. I went to different police stations in search of her.

“I sold all I had to raise the money needed to conduct the search for her. After two years, my husband told me to stop searching and that I should just keep praying for her. And anytime my heart reached out to her, I would give alms to the poor on her behalf.”

Abass said when Ikimot returned, she could not recognise her initially, adding that the girl helped the police to arrest her captor.

“On Tuesday, February 26, 2019, I was outside the house.....https://janefblog.com/5535-2girl-reunites-with-family-five-years-after-going-missing/

What a wicked world. Kidnapping and selling kids.

This girl would have grown up to become an Igbo girl not knowing her root was Yoruba.