They disappeared, leaving behind more questions than answers and families trapped in a never-ending nightmare. Years have passed, but for parents still searching, time has not healed the wound. Cherished photographs have become painful reminders, while hope battles daily with despair. Though the nation has largely moved on, these families continue to live with the agony of not knowing what became of their missing children. CHIJIOKE IREMEKA writes
At about 10 a.m. on a quiet Thursday morning in Lagos, two-year-old Azeezat Sholabunmi was laughing and playing with other children beside her grandmother’s kiosk, tucked outside their family’s crowded face-me-I-face-you apartment in the densely populated Old Ojo area of the state.
Inside, her mother, Kafayat, had briefly stepped away to rinse a pot and prepare breakfast for the family.
Less than seven minutes later, when she returned, Azeezat was nowhere to be found.
At first, Kafayat was not alarmed. Her daughter often wandered into neighbours’ rooms to play with other children. So, assuming she had done the same, she continued with her chores.
