Lagos-based woman, Mrs Grace Abu, tells BIODUN BUSARI how her neighbour allegedly snatched her husband and sent her son, Praise to prison
What is your relationship with the woman who got your son arrested?
The lady in question was once a neighbour in my compound. She had her own husband and their children in her matrimonial home. Our apartments were in the same compound. All of a sudden, she started moving closer to my family after my husband invited her to our church programme.
She testified that she loved the event. She would say she loved my children and the rest. She started attending our church. Later, she was seen helping my husband with almost everything about church matters. When we were going home, she wouldn’t go. She would stay back.
Then, some members complained to me that they were no longer in charge of the ushering department because she had taken over everything. I talked to my husband about it, but he didn’t say or do anything.
My husband had taken all those duties away from people and given them to her. Later, I was told that they were going almost everywhere together.
What is the position of your husband in the church?
He is a pastor. He made the woman his personal assistant. The associate pastor had complained to me that he had seen both of them. They would be going about to buy food together. People said they met the woman in a hotel and that she was not a true Christian.
Are you inferring that your husband and the woman were having an extramarital affair?
Yes. They were going out. I did not believe it before when people told me until I began to meet them in the church office. There was a time when he would come to church and after the service, he asked me to take the children home.
What happened to your son?
The woman got my son arrested when Samuel, my stepson went missing.
Did the woman give birth to Samuel for your husband?
Yes. They started having an affair together. Samuel is my stepson.
When was your son released?
Praise, who was detained and sent to juvenile correctional facility after Samuel went missing, was released on March 11. He was taken to court despite the fact that the boy they claimed was missing had been found. My son was detained by that woman. He suffered for no reason.
Did you talk to him about his experience in detention?
No. I have not seen him since the day he was released. I have not talked to him. We are not living together. He and Glory lived with my husband. My husband and I are separated.
There was a report that Samuel was found in an orphanage, how did he get there?
I don’t know. Up till now, nobody knows what was wrong. What I know is that the boy was found and the police handed him over to his mother. Yet, they let my son languish in detention since last year. The police said they were conducting an investigation, but I’ve left everything to God.
Three months in juvenile prison over false kidnap claim broke my brother — Lagos teenager
Glory Honesty, 16, with the permission of her mother, tells BIODUN BUSARI how her elder brother suffered in police custody due to the influence of her stepmother
What is your relationship with Praise?
My name is Glory Honesty. I am the younger sister of Praise, the boy who was arrested for kidnapping. The police arrested my brother, saying he kidnapped our six-year-old stepbrother.
Where do you live?
I live in Lagos. I’m currently staying with my mum at Egbeda.
How about your father and other siblings?
My parents are not together. They are separated. So, when this issue happened, we were with our dad at Agbara.
Can you tell us about your brother?
His name is Praise Honesty. He is 17 years old. My brother is a brilliant student. He signed out last year at Edo State Polytechnic for his National Diploma in Pharmaceutical Technology.
Why was your brother arrested?
He was arrested because our younger stepbrother went missing and his mother accused my brother, Praise, of orchestrating his disappearance.
What is the name of your stepbrother who went missing?
His name is Samuel.
How did he go missing?
We were at home on Friday, November 28, 2025. My dad’s church member called him about the passing of his mother. So, he travelled to his village that day. Praise, myself, and our three stepbrothers were at home.
Not quite long, I was teaching the younger ones, and Praise said he needed Samuel’s assistance with something. So, I let Samuel go and meet him. After a while, I asked Praise where Samuel was, and he told me that he had sent him to buy biscuits and other items when he complained that he was hungry. It was just a nearby shop, but we waited for long without Samuel returning.
Where was Samuel’s mother at that time?
She was not living with us. My dad didn’t marry her. She gave birth to three step-siblings. According to the story often told by my mum, I think my dad had an affair with her before my parents got separated in 2015.
I was five years old then. The woman had a daughter before giving birth to the three living with us. She divorced her husband. She gave birth to the last one the year my dad married his current wife.
Back to our discussion; had Samuel been going out to buy things on his own?
Yes, he could go to buy things on his own. Sometimes, he went with his elder sister, who was eight years old at that time.
Do you have any other siblings apart from Praise?
Yes. I have two older siblings.
When you didn’t see Samuel return home, what efforts did you make to find him?
I quickly ended the lesson. We started looking for him in all the places around us. Praise went to check on him at my aunt’s place. He was not there. The neighbours around said they had not seen him where he used to buy things.
Definitely, he had not got to where he was supposed to buy biscuits before he got lost. People joined us in searching for him, but we couldn’t find him. My dad’s two sisters and one elderly man were staying with us. My dad’s current wife, who is another stepmother, also joined us in the search for Samuel.
When was Praise arrested?
He was arrested on December 17, 2025. It was not only Praise who was arrested. My father’s current wife was also arrested by the policemen. It was Samuel’s mother who brought the policemen. My dad was also arrested. I didn’t even know that they were arrested; I was with my mum and my older sister.
It was on a Friday that we noticed that people were calling my sister and asking, ‘Where is your dad?’ They said they had been calling my dad, but his number was busy. Then he said they arrested him on Wednesday. My dad, his wife, and Praise were detained. That day, they were taken to Agbara, but in the middle of the night, they released my dad.
How about the two others?
It was Praise and our stepmother who were not released immediately.
What was the relationship between Samuel’s mother and your dad?
My dad and Samuel’s mother were having an extramarital affair. They didn’t get married, but they had a relationship. My mum was bitter about it. The woman used to help my dad in his church, and they were close and became intimate.
What did they do to your brother?
He was taken to court for kidnapping. But where it became an issue was that some people said they saw Samuel somewhere. Some neighbours said they saw him in an orphanage.
Which court was he arraigned?
When they arrested him, they took him to a police station in Agbara. After that, he was taken to a juvenile correctional centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State. From there, he was taken to a magistrate court.
Which day did they find Samuel?
It was on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
How did they find him?
They were saying he sold the boy to them. Even when Samuel was found, his mother still insisted that it was Praise who was behind his disappearance in the first place. She said Praise would not be released.
How is your brother after he regained freedom?
He has been sick. He is still receiving treatment in the hospital. He and my mum have not spoken since he was released. It is really painful what he went through.
Credit: PUNCH
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