A 19-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman before abducting her three-year-old son.

The suspect, Chisom Obiora, allegedly punched Mrs. Rofiat Ayinde in the face before grabbing the toddler and attempted to escape with him.

The suspect was arrested by the police on April 12 after Ayinde reported the matter to the police at Satellite Police Station.  In her report, she said that her son, Al-Ameen Ayinde, had been abducted by a stranger.

The incident occurred at No. 10, Baale Street in Satellite area of Lagos State.

Obiora, however, denied he stole the boy, claiming he picked the boy to show him directions to a location he was seeking.

He said that he didn’t know the exact place he was going and decided to ask the three-year-old boy. Nobody believed Obiora’s story.

Trouble started for the suspected kidnapper after the victim’s mother saw her son in the clutches of a total stranger, later identified as Obiora. She raised the alarm and then confronted him. According to police, in Obiora’s bid to escape with the child, he punched the boy mother’s in the face.

The woman’s shout attracted a nearby police patrol team from Satellite Division led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO). The police immediately arrested the suspect and rescued the child.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the incident. Elkana said the case of the stolen child was reported at Satellite Police Station.

He said:

“The mother of the missing boy reported that her son, Al-ameen Ayinde, was abducted. It was through investigation that Chisom Obiora was arrested by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Satellite Police Station, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Chike Oti. The child was rescued unhurt.”