A woman, Patience Isua, has lost custody of her three-year-old twin boys for allegedly videoing them while making love. She was said to have sent the video recording to the twins father, Emmanuel Ikanta, who took the clip to the police.
The children were taken from their mother’s 2, Olugbemiga Ladipo, Ado in Ajah, Lagos home, on Tuesday night by Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal and some officials of the Ministry of Women Affairs.
According to Isua, she recorded and sent the clip to her estranged husband so that he would take her seriously.
She said she usually told him the kids behaved strangely whenever they returned from his place. Their father, she claimed, would hang up on her after saying “and so?”
Isua said Ikanta left her last year, adding that he is co-habiting with a woman, who she alleged is corrupting her kids.
Asked by Edgal who made the video, she said: “Yes, I took the video myself. He was not around when I sent it to him. My children stay with me and they stay with him as well. He comes to pick the children to wherever he is staying.
“We have been living apart since last year that he took me to a human rights organisation. It was agreed that he should have 12 hours with the kids at weekends but he did not stick to the agreement. Sometimes, he took them with him for many days and when they came back, they usually exhibited strange behaviours.
“I am aware that he lives with an older woman. So, he takes them there and whenever they are there, I get worried because I do not know what my children are going through in the hands of the woman.
“Somebody trained my boys to practice such devilish act. This is an abuse. I do not know who trained them to be like this. Before I saw them and videoed it, I had told their father that whenever they came back from his house they usually complained of pain.
“There were signs before it got to this stage. I don’t know where he takes them to and what they are fed. Most times they come back stooling blood or complaining of pains in their anus. I called his attention to it but he didn’t listen. This is what has been killing me silently.
“There was a day they went to school from his house and their auntie (teacher) called me to complain that my children were stooling blood. I told her to report to their father because they came to school from his house. Then I called him the following day to ask if their auntie complained to him and he said ‘yes’. When I asked what they ate, he hung up.
“Another time, one of my sons while pooing, said his anus was paining him. I took him out of the toilet and I saw fresh wounds. Again I called to find out where he usually took the kids, because I did not understand what was happening.
“I told him his children would come back from where he takes them to and they would sit on the chair and start saying mummy, daddy kiss.
“So, when I saw them that day, I had to video and send to him so that he would see the damage he was causing to our kids. He now turned the whole thing around and wants to blame me, whereas, I told him to stop taking my kids where he usually took them.
“I know they picked up the habit where he usually took them to, because in my house, they do not have access to television and they do not go out. I only take them to school and church. I live with my sister, who goes to work and comes back late. So, it is certainly not in my house that they saw such devilish act.”
Asked the action she took after she saw her kids practicing homosexuality, Isua said she took them for deliverance and also told her pastor, who prayed for them.
She said she never went to hospital when they were stooling blood nor did report the matter to the police.
Isua said: “I also trained them. I told my kids to shout and tell their daddy should anyone try to touch their private parts. I told them to scream ‘Satan!’”
Ikanta denied the allegations, saying she neither told him nor showed him anything until the day she sent the video.
“I was really surprised when she sent me that video. I never imagined such a thing would happen. So, you took your time to video this without you shouting at them to stop and you said you wanted to send it to me?” he queried.
Addressing the couple, Edgal said: “This is a very serious act and as a mother you see your children and your response was to video it? Now apart from you videoing this what other actions did you take? Who did you report to?
“It is not only the police that are concerned. You can see we have a Child Protection Unit from the Ministry of Youth and Social Development.
“People are concerned. You would agree with me that these children are supposed to be under strict parental care and guidance. From this video, you will agree that it doesn’t show good example of parental care.
“Having discussed it with experts and also officials from the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, we are of the opinion that there is need to find out more as to what is going on regarding the welfare of the children. As such, we are also of the opinion that we cannot entrust these children to your care for now, until we understand exactly what is going on.
“We would entrust the children to the ministry. That is why they are here. They have shelters that are approved by the government and these shelters are purposely built for purposes such as this to ensure that children are protected by the state when the need arises.
“There is going to be a joint investigation between the police gender unit and the ministry. We want to be sure that nobody is abusing these children. We want to know where they picked up this kind of elaborate homosexual act.
“Anyone who sees this would be worried especially because of the tenderness of the children. They are too young.
“We cannot entrust them to any of you. We intend to take this matter to a law court to determine the suitability of both of you for parenthood.”
