Family Forced to Leave Lagos After Daughter's Kidnap

More than a year after five-year-old Memunah Abdulrahman was taken from a supermarket in Ejigbo, Lagos, her family says they fell into heavy debt and had to move to Ogun State.

Memunah was kidnapped on March 9, 2025, while coming back from Islamic school with her older sister.

At that time, the family told PUNCH Metro that a man approached the girls at the supermarket, pretending to buy items for them. He then took Memunah away and left her sister behind.

The family reported the case at the Ejigbo Divisional Police Headquarters. CCTV footage showed the suspect taking Memunah in a tricycle.

After PUNCH Metro’s coverage of the kidnapping, Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson, said Commissioner of Police Owohunwa Jimoh directed the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, to take over the case.

“The CP has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, and is hopeful that a breakthrough will be recorded soon,” police stated.

But more than a year later, no one knows where Memunah is. Her family is struggling with debts and suffering from an attack on their Lagos home.

Alimi Abdulrahman, Memunah’s father, told PUNCH Metro on Sunday that the family had to leave their community because they could not handle the financial burden from searching for their daughter.

“We had to leave the community. We had a lot of problems after the abduction of my daughter, who was just five years old when she was taken while returning from her Islamic school with her elder sister,” Abdulrahman said.

He said the kidnappers called the family months later and demanded ransom.

“Her abductors called us on the phone months after she was kidnapped to demand ransom. We sent more than N140,000 to them in two parts. Yet, we did not see our daughter,” he said.

According to him, a police officer helping with the case later introduced them to a tracker who traced the account that received the ransom.

Abdulrahman said things got worse when the family attempted to catch suspects in Abeokuta. Some people broke into their Lagos home, threw a chemical substance inside, and stole their phones and ATM cards.

“At the time when we wanted to arrest the suspects in Abeokuta, some people broke into our apartment, threw some chemical substance into the apartment and stole our phones and ATM cards,” he said.

“We thought this might be related to our daughter’s abduction. We sold everything possible to get our daughter. I sold the motorcycle I was using to take care of my family. My wife even took on a lot of debt just to raise money to get our daughter back.”

He said the family left Lagos after debts and unpaid rent made it impossible to stay.

“We decided to leave the community after we could no longer pay the rent and mounting debt my wife and I had incurred. The people who broke into our apartment also stole our ATM card and later withdrew more than N150,000 that was sent to us by my wife’s family to relocate to Abeokuta.

“We were stranded, and we are still struggling. If Memunah had not been abducted, we would not be where we are today,” he added.

Abdulrahman said some people later raised money to help the family rent their current home in Ogun State.

“It was even some people who raised the money for us to rent the place where we are managing now. We need all the support we can get from the public. My daughter would have been more than six years old now,” he said.

He also claimed a key suspect caught by members of the Oodua People’s Congress was later released after promising to provide information about Memunah.

“A key suspect who was caught by the OPC was later released on the promise that he would provide information about my daughter. Both he and his family, who pleaded on his behalf, are nowhere to be found now,” Abdulrahman said.

The father said their financial struggles have stopped them from exploring legal and investigative options.

“When we reported the matter to the police after the incident last year, they referred us to Panti. But we couldn’t proceed because we did not have the money to give them to go around to look for the suspects. We could have gotten a lawyer, but we don’t have the money to hire one,” he said.

Memunah’s mother, Bashirah, said the abduction changed their lives completely.

“Our lives are no longer the same. We were battling with debts everywhere. We paid through our noses to pay these people. They collected N70,000 at one point. Another N700,000 was paid later that year,” she said.

She expressed anger that they could not secure Memunah’s release, even with CCTV footage of the suspect.

“We could not inform the police because they didn’t do anything about it when we reported that our daughter was abducted in March 2025. This was despite the fact that a CCTV camera captured the image of the suspect who kidnapped my daughter,” Bashirah said.

She said moving to Ogun State was a direct result of the abduction and its aftermath.

“We were forced out of Lagos by the debt and the attack on our home caused by the abduction of Memunah. If you see where we are living now, you would have pity on us,” she said.

“We want Nigerians to come to our aid. We want our daughter.”

The family is appealing to the public and relevant authorities to help find Memunah and bring her back home.