Dandy Eze is the Chief Executive Officer of a Lagos based non-governmental organization, Parts of Peace Initiative, PPE. He is also a freelance journalist. He was in Enugu, recently, to see his children who have been living with his former wife, five years after their divorce. Luckily, after he was able to locate where they were living at Amorji, Abakpa Nike, a suburb of the Coal City, he, according to him, met only his son. His son reportedly joyously took his daddy to the school where his sister was attending classes. Security men in the school, he said, insisted in contacting the mother of the children before allowing him to see his only daughter Minutes later, they informed him that he would not be allowed to see his daughter; he then decided to go back to their residence and wait with his son not knowing that his trip will take a different dimension. No sooner than he left the school compound than some boys, armed with cudgels and other dangerous weapons, reportedly trailed and confronted him. They branded him a kidnapper.
He was, according to him, subjected to intense battering and beatings until providence saved his life. He narrated his heartrending story to our Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie. Excerpts:
“I got married to Ngozi Ejimofor in 2010, and we had three children. I filed for divorce in 2017 due to alleged infidelity at an Ikeja customary court. The court later gave judgment and ruled that the three children, Chigozie (5), Ifechukwu (3) and Angel Eze (1) should be under my care after I accused her of abandoning the children. The court, however, gave her the custody of my last daughter, Angel. I appealed that aspect and filed stay of execution but, to my greatest surprise, in December 2018, she stormed my house in a commando-like style and took them away and all my efforts to locate them since then proved abortive.
“However, early this year when she attempted to sell my land in Enugu, I was alerted by the person who sold the land to confirm if I gave her authority to sell the land.
“That was how I knew that she is staying in Enugu with the children. But, anytime I called her begging her to, at least, let me set my eyes on my children, she will tell me that they are in Abuja, that I should go to Abuja to see them.
Address
“If I tell her to give me the address in Abuja, she will cut off my phone and block my number. So, this time around, I appealed to the man that sold the land to me to help show me where they are staying. In August, this year, I bought eleven pairs of shoes and took to Enugu to see and give to my children and when I got to Amorji Nike where they are living, I called her and told her that I was close to her place to see the children and give them things I bought for them.
“She refused to let me see them and told me that they were not around, that I should give whatever I brought to someone to give them later.
“After my pleadings fell on deaf ears, I gave the shoes to someone to give to them, and I told her that I will be coming by September ending to bring phone to my son so that I can be communicating with them. “When I came in that September, she blocked my line, but I was able to locate where they are living. “When I got there, I met their landlady who asked me to wait as my children will soon come back from school and I waited until my son came back and I gave him the phone I bought for him.
School
“After sometime and my daughter did not come, I told my son that we could go to her school so that any other time I could go and see her in the school. “When we got to the school, JG International School, the teacher called their mother and informed her that I was around and she told them not to allow me see her and I left, took my son back to their house.
“However, as I was walking towards where I will take a commercial motorcycle called keke, suddenly; two scruffy-looking boys double crossed me and ordered me to follow them.
“They started beating me and I had no other option than to run for my life. They over powered and subjected me to thorough beating and battering. “They were hitting me with sticks, cudgels, stones and rod and at the same time shouting on people to come as I am a kidnapper. Vanguard
