Three rescued Ikorodu schoolgirls recovering

•Police close in on fleeing suspects

The three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS) who were rescued from kidnappers on Sunday are recovering, it was learnt yesterday.

Oluwatimilehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popoolaniyan and Deborah Akinayo were rescued by the police at Igbo-Okuta Bridge, after spending six days in the Adamo creeks, Ikorodu with their abductors..

The teenagers, who were on Sunday, initially taken to their school to be reunited with their parents, were conveyed in a white school bus to the hospital inside the Police College, Ikeja, for medical examination.

It was learnt that the traumatised girls, are undergoing therapy, surrounded by their parents and loved ones.

Oluwatimilehin’s father, Ven. Victor Ayo Olusa, who is also the Excutive Secretary of the Anglican Schools’ Management Board, said medical examination had been conducted on the teenagers.

He said the girls were recovering, adding:

“No, they have not resumed school yet and all three of them are in the same location. They are in the country.

“Like any other person, we were in a state of anxiety and tension when they were held hostage. It was unimaginable and very traumatic.

“But as Christians, we were optimistic.  We had faith that they would come back. We believed that no matter how bleak a situation, God will intervene.

“The girls were traumatised when they were rescued. It was not easy for them. Imagine someone who is used to sleeping on the bed to start sleeping in a place that is not conducive.”

“They are recuperating. Yes, medical examination has been conducted on them. They are happy being surrounded by their loved ones but at times, they feel down when they remember that they were isolated.

“All three of them are classmates. We do not want to subject them to anything that will make them recall while they were in captivity,” he said.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni, said the police were on the trail of other culprits in the girls’ kidnap.

Owoseni told reporters at the Police Command in Ikeja that the police shielded the girls from the public because they are 14- year-olds and to avoid their being stigmatised.

He said the operation was far from being concluded, adding that a lot of information have been gathered towards the apprehension of the fleeing suspects and their accomplices.

The commissioner dismissed fears that Ikorodu had turned to a safe haven for kidnappers.

“Our greatest challenge was in rescuing the girls unhurt, and not in combating the criminals. We were being cautious because we knew that facing the kidnappers headlong could lead to their harming the girls.

“Rescuing the girls is one leg of the operation. Work has just begun now because we are on the trail of the other culprits. We have built on a whole lot of information and our job is not completed until all those involved are rounded up, as well as their aiders,” he said.

it was learnt that  plans were underway to launch a simultaneous operation in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo and Delta to flush out dislodged vandals and criminals hiding in the creeks.

It was gathered that the operation had become expedient following the spate of armed robbery and kidnappings perpetrated through the waterways.

It was learnt that the criminals go into hiding in those places after an operation, because they know that the areas are not easily accessible to security agents.