Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
There was joy and relief in Saki, Oyo State, on Thursday, August 13, 2026, as officers of the Kolawole Police Division reunited a young girl with her mother after a harrowing two-year search that had left the family in anguish. The teenager, identified as Zainab, had been missing since she fled her home in Ileṣa Ibaruba amid violence and attacks that forced residents to flee for safety. The reunion brought to an end months of uncertainty and pain for her mother, Leinatu, who had combed different towns across the region in search of her daughter.
The incident began about two years ago when two minors, who initially identified themselves as Mariam and Nifemi, left their home in Ileṣa Ibaruba. The girls claimed to have the same father but different mothers, alleging that they fled because of maltreatment by their stepmother and neglect by their father. They said they left home in search of a better life in Lagos. According to their initial account to law enforcement agents, the girls eventually came under the care of a Lagos-based woman they identified as Iya Damilola Abdullahi, who allegedly employed them as housemaids.
After allegedly experiencing further difficulties in Lagos, the girls boarded a vehicle bound for Saki. Their journey was cut short in Iseyin, where the driver allegedly dropped them off after they were unable to pay the transport fare. Undeterred, they managed to secure another ride to Saki. However, when they arrived and could not settle the fare, locals became suspicious and took them to the Kolawole Police Station for questioning.
Following discreet investigations by the Saki police, coupled with strategic social media campaigns, the children's true identities finally came to light. The real mother of the girl who paraded herself as Mariam surfaced in Saki, debunking the elaborate claims as lies. The mother, identified as Leinatu, clarified that the girl using the alias "Mariam" was actually named Zainab, confirming that the teenager had fed investigators a completely fabricated identity.
Shedding light on the circumstances of her disappearance, Leinatu explained that an outbreak of violence and subsequent attacks in Ileṣa Ibaruba had forced residents to flee for safety, during which Zainab went missing. She revealed that she had spent the last two years combing different towns in search of her daughter. Denying the allegations of child abuse and professional background levelled against her by the teenager, Leinatu maintained that she is not a nurse, emphasising that her daughter was well-known throughout Ileṣa.
An elated Leinatu expressed profound gratitude to the Divisional Police Officer and the entire personnel of the Kolawole Police Division in Saki. She specifically lauded the officers for their high sense of professionalism and integrity, noting that they discharged their duties diligently without demanding a single kobo from the family before reuniting her with her daughter. The reunion stands as a testament to the power of community vigilance, social media, and dedicated police work in reuniting families torn apart by circumstances beyond their control.
For Zainab and her mother, the long nightmare is finally over, and a new chapter of healing begins.
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