For the family of Mrs Cecilia Obaikhena, it was joy turned sour as their matriarch, who was one of the inmates of the kidnappers' den released last Saturday, has gone missing again.
When they got the news of the discovery of a kidnappers' den in Ibadan and saw the picture of their long-lost mother and grandmother adorning the cover of the Sunday Tribune, they were elated. Pronto Victor and Vivian, son and granddaughter respectively, of Cecilia Obaikhena, who was one of the inmates freed from the den, rushed down to Ibadan from their Lagos base to take their matriarch back home.
They got to Ibadan on Tuesday and headed for Soka area where the den was discovered. They searched everywhere for their matriarch but she was no where to be found.
They were advised to go to the State Hospital at Yemetu, where some of the inmates were taken.
So, they headed for the place but it was futile because Mrs Cecilia Obaikhena was not among the patients in the hospital.
Determined to see their mother/grandmother, they toured all the police stations in the vicinity clutching the pictures of their matriarch as well as a copy of the Sunday Tribune but tried as much as they did, they could not locate Mrs Obaikhena.
So, they headed for the Tribune House at Imalefalafia to see if they could find help.
Explaining how the woman disappeared, Vivian said the old woman in 2008, went to the market where she was residing in Iruekpen, Edo State, but she never returned home. She said they went searching for her at police stations, and made announcements on media houses, including NTA Iruekpen, but their efforts brought no success.
"Since 2008, we have been looking for her," Vivian said.
Narrating how they got to know about the kidnappers' den, Vivian said,
"On Monday, I was browsing with my phone when I came across the Ibadan House of Horror story on a blog. Immediately, I saw the picture of one of the victims and I recognized her as our long lost granny, then I left for Ibadan and came in company with my uncle who is her son."
Voicing their frustration at the futility of their effort to find the woman, Vivian said, she noted through the by-line that the photograph of the old woman was exclusive to the Nigerian Tribune, hence their visit to the Tribune House to make enquiries as to the exact time and location of the woman, when the photograph was taken.
"How could a woman who was found on Saturday have disappeared almost without a trace on Tuesday?" Vivian lamented.
Our photographer, who was at the site to cover the discovery on Saturday, said around 8.00pm he happened on the scene where the old woman in question, was being trailed by a small crowd as she was slowly walking away from the den while regaling the crowd with the story of how she was abducted in Edo State in 2008.
"It was her story that made me to pause to take her picture. As I left the woman and the crowd, I heard some people express their concern about how the woman would cope knowing no one in Ibadan as she continued her slow walk into the dark night."
So, for the relations of Cecilia Obhaghene, the search for their matriarch continues.
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