A one-year-old boy has been stolen at the Takoradi market popularly known as Market Circle.
Francis Mawusi Ahiabenu was stolen from his mother on Friday by a woman believed to be in her 40s.
According to the mother of the boy, Nana Akosua, the suspect who was dressed in a long dress with a veil engaged her in a hearty conversation prior to the act.
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She told Joy News’ Western Regional Correspondent, Ina-Thalia Quansah, that she first noticed the suspect in front of her sister’s shop as she cleaned her older kid.
The woman, according to Nana Akosua, approached her and inquired if her kids were Ewes to which he responded in the affirmative.
She explained that the suspect told her she was also called Mawusi after she learnt the name of young Francis.
Subsequently, the suspect requested to buy a pastry and sausage for the kids, Nana Akosua said.
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She said even though she obliged to the strange woman’s demand, she was at the same time apprehensive because of the recent kidnappings in the region so she decided to follow the suspect at a close distance, keeping an eye on her kids.
However, Akosua returned when she saw the suspect turn in her direction, bringing back her children.
She, however, started panicking when she realised it had been an hour but her baby was still not back.
She then saw her first child come back crying, making her wonder about the suspect’s whereabouts and what might have happened to her kid.
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That was the last she saw of her baby boy.
Since the kidnapping, the Redeem Christian church has become her second home, as she hopes and prays for a miraculous return of her one-year-old “Ceeceeboy” as she affectionately calls him.
Meanwhile, Police and residents of Takoradi are on a manhunt for the woman who is believed to have stolen the child.
Leonard Quansah, a family member, said they are trusting the police to do a good job, since the CCTV camera of a nearby bank captured the unidentified woman, cuddling the baby as she moved away from the market.
Takoradi kidnappings
Little Francis Mawusi is not the first child to go missing in Takoradi.
Three girls – from separate families – were taken from various locations in Takoradi since last year and nothing has been heard about their whereabouts.
Priscilla Blessing Bentum, 21, was the first to be taken in August 2018. The student left home for choir practice but never returned. Her worried father reported her disappearance to the police 24 hours later. It is now known that she was abducted at Kansaworodo, a suburb of Takoradi, an oil-rich town.
Eighteen-year-old Ruth Love Quayeson took a cab ride from her home in Diabene to the Butumagyedu Junction and is yet to be seen again.
Priscilla Mantebea Koranchie, 15, was last seen on December 21, 2018. She told her younger siblings she was taking a walk to a nearby town, Nkroful and since then no one has heard from here.
Parents of the girls in many instances have gone on demonstration to demand swift action from the police force in the search of their daughters.
The prime suspect Samuel Udoetuk Wills, a Nigerian, once broke cells and was re-arrested after a manhunt.
The police have not been able to gather any meaningful information from the suspect on the whereabouts of the girls.
Suspect, Samuel Udoetuk Wills
In January 2019, Gender and Social Protection Minister, Cynthia Morrison stated there are strong indications that the three missing Takoradi young ladies reported kidnapped since last year are still in Ghana.
However, no news about the whereabouts of the girls has been heard.
Joy News launched a campaign in a bid to mount pressure on the police and engage the citizens to help find the missing girls.
The slogan “if you see something, say something.”
Join the campaign #BringBackOurTaadiGirls.
Source: Myjoyoline.com