By Eche Nwaobasi
A couple in Onitsha, Anambra State Mr. Sunday Oduma, a barrow pusher at Sokoto Road near Onitsha Main Market and his wife Mrs. Modesta Oduma a sweeper at one of the numerous plazas located at Pam pam lane also near Main Market residing at No. 68 Venn road South, Odoakpu, Onitsha, Onitsha South L.G.A is seeking the urgent help of Nigerians to help them locate the whereabout of their two missing kids, Miss Oluebube Oduma aged 4 years and Master Arinzechukwu Oduma aged 1 year and 4 months who were abducted by a strange woman who came to their residence on the evening of 17th August 2025 on the guise that she was looking for a relation of the couple who is a professional hair plaiter who used to live with the couple for her to plait her hair.
Narrating this sad incident to this reporter while sobbing profusely in their residence at No. 68 Venn road south yesterday, Mr. Sunday Oduma who has a family of six children and hails from Nzachi Achalla Ikwo in Ikwo L.G.A, Ebonyi State explained that on that day that he and his wife was at their residence while the two of the abducted children and their immediate senior and others were at the stair of their one storey residence playing. He noted that as he was trying to go out to buy some food items for the family supper and as the wife was trying to go out to a nearby Ochanja market to buy some soup condiments they will cooked that day, that all of a sudden that their first daughter rushed inside their room where he and his wife was preparing to go out and informed them that there was a woman that said she was looking for one Happiness the sister of his wife who is a professional hair plaiter who used to stay in their residence to plait hair who has relocated to another place.
He explained that her daughter told him and his wife that the woman said that somebody directed her to Happiness for Happiness to plait her hair. He further said that after hearing this that his wife rushed out to meet the strange woman and asked her who was she looking for and the woman answered her that she was looking for Happiness. He said that the wife told the woman that her sister was no longer living with them and in order to be of help to the woman decided to use her cell phone to contact her sister who later on came and met the strange woman for two of them to book an appointment for the following day.
He said that on the next day that Happiness came early as she and strange woman agreed upon but left after waiting for a long time without seeing the strange woman. Continuing he said that after several hours his wife’s sister left the strange woman later on surfaced but was told by his children who are playing on the veranda of their house that Happiness has come and gone after waiting for her for a long time, he stated that the woman after been told this, faked tiredness and pleaded for his children to provide a chair for her to sit and regained her strength before going.
He said that as the woman was there waiting and eating her groundnut and banana she bought, that his wife begged him to help her bought potatoes at nearby Sanniez street market for the children for night supper. He explained that because of the woman’s innocent look, he and his wife did not have any cause to be hostile to her and for that he said he decided to go to the market to purchased what the wife told him to buy and that innocently without suspecting anything that his wife also left for nearby Ochanja Market to buy soup condiments she wanted to cook that night.
He explained that he and his wife left but on coming back and asked the children the whereabouts of the kids, that their senior brother Master Somtochukwu who is the immediate senior to the missing kids told him that the strange woman took them that before carrying them that the strange woman gave him money to go and buy popcorn for all of them and that when he came back and saw her carrying the kids and wanted to protest the woman hushed him in a very harsh tone to quickly rushed up to give the popcorn to their mother stressing that, that was the last time he saw two of his beloved kids.
Crying profusely which was laced with emotion, he said “am finished, I have gone to the police to complain, am confused, I don’t have money, am appealing to well meaning Nigerians to help, I don’t sleep again, everyday me and my wife will be crying in the night. I want my children back, I don’t have money to pursue this. Am calling on human right communities, security agencies, media houses to help me to locate them, this is my cell phone number 07071606288 for helpers to contact me”.
On her part- Mrs. Modesta Oduma the wife of Mr. Sunday Oduma who worked as casual sweeper in one of the plazas at Pam pam lane near Main Market said that since the incident that she has been suffering hypertension and lack of sleep. She narrated that she has been dreaming of her kids and passionately appealed to Nigerians to help them to locate them. Said her, “am begging everybody to come to our aid, I don’t know the fate of my lovely children, I don’t know whether they have used for ritual, somebody should help us, we want prayers, we don’t have connection or money to pursue this, people should help us, I thank Nigeria press for this their efforts in this regard, is only God that will bless them especially this reporter who has taken it upon himself to help us. Is only God that will bless whoever that helps us”.