When Amarachi was discovered, she had a broken skull, twisted neck and was very weak, unable to speak and motionless.
Augustine, with force number 400823, was said to have fled as soon as he got wind of the fact that the missing girl had been discovered in his one-room apartment, under his bed.
The reason why the policeman dragged the girl into his room and tied her is yet unknown, but residents are alleging ritual purposes.The incident, which occurred at 1, Olufowobi Street, Ikosi, Ketu, attracted attention, earning the ire of the youths in the area, who mobilized, chanting war songs and frantically looking for Augustine.
Trouble started on Thursday evening when the parents of Amarachi, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Abakwan, who had gone out for their daily businesses, returned and could not find Amarachi.
It was gathered that the mother of the girl was the first to return home but since she was busy outside their compound, she did not take note that Amarachi was missing.
She later said she thought the girl had gone to sleep inside.
Mr. Abakwan, a driver with Strands Communications Limited, explained that when he returned from work, he discovered that Amarachi had not come to greet him as was usual.
He asked his wife the whereabouts of Amarachi, but she told him Amarachi was sleeping.
Mr. Abakwan said: “When they went to call her, she was nowhere to be found.
“That was how we started searching for her and we couldn’t find her.
“Our saving grace was a small child in the compound.
“The child told us that she saw Oga Olopa (the policeman), carrying Amarachi from our room where she was sleeping into his one-room apartment.
“You know as a child, nobody took her serious but in the ensuing confusion, the child insisted that Amarachi was in the policeman’s room.
“The policeman, we gathered had before the incident, sent Amarachi on an errand to buy bean cake (Akara) for him.
“He later on sent her to buy him recharge card before she went to sleep.
“When it became obvious that the girl might not be found easily, the mother confronted the policeman to provide her daughter since she was last seen with him.”
Mr. Abakwan explained that Augustine, who was smoking outside his room at the time his wife confronted him, got up and pretended as if he was angry at the accusation of the woman.
Fuming, Augustine threatened that he was going to the police station to lodge a complaint of false accusation.
Augustine left in an angry huff and since then, had not been seen.
Parents of the missing girl rushed to the Ketu Police Station to lodge a report and a policeman was detailed to the compound to start investigations.
According Mr. Abakwan, the Investigating Police Officer said he had no power to break and enter Augustine’s apartment, but asked for a stool.
He climbed the stool and peeped through the window and behold, he saw a little girl’s leg, protruding from under the bed, struggling to be free from the rope binding her legs.
The policeman then decided to rush back to the station to mobilize other policemen to the scene.
But before the IPO came back, the angry crowd at the scene broke into the room and freed Amarachi.
“The most important thing was the safety of my daughter,” said Mr. Abakwan.
He added: “When we went into the room, we brought out Amarachi with her mouth, legs and hands tie.
“Only her legs were outside as she was struggling to free herself but the upper part of her body was under the man’s bed, she couldn’t speak.
“The man had twisted her neck and used an object to break her skull, thinking that she would die in the process but God saved her.
“My interest was to save my daughter.
“We rushed her to Dafe Medical Hospital where they refused to admit her.”
The parents moved the girl to Gbagada General Hospital where they were advised that she should be transferred to the Island General Hospital Emergency Ward where the girl is recuperating.
Sources alleged that several items were found in the man’s room, including children’s wears, shoes, police uniform and a big ‘Ghana Must Go’ bag believed to be the sack he wanted to put the girl and take her to an unknown destination.
Residents alleged that Augustine, who moved into his one room apartment four years ago, had suddenly become very rich with over four state of the art cars in his possession.
He was alleged to be a night crawler who goes out at odd hours.
A resident claims: “The man is always carrying Ghana Must Go bags into the vehicle and he has this habit of going out and coming out from 1am to 4am.”
The victim, who is now recuperating in the hospital, has a POP fixed to her neck to enable her twisted neck be corrected and has been able to recount her ordeal in the hands of the policeman.
The father said the girl would be required to be taken to a specialist to get her broken skull treated as advised by the doctors.
Police spokesperson in Lagos State, Ngozi Braide, reacting to the incident, said: “I heard of that wicked act and we have started investigation.
“I have contacted the commander in charge of MOPOL 22, which is where the complainant alleged the suspect to be working.
“The commander said there was no such name or identity in his squadron.
“Meanwhile, we have sent signals to other police departments and stations to ascertain if this man is actually a serving policeman.
“That act is inhuman and whoever did that will never go unpunished.”
