“Go and bring the money you stole from my
purse. If you do not get it, I will teach you a lesson today”. With this threat, 12-year-old Nofi(other
names withheld) said she bolted from her grandmother’s apartment in Aiyenero, under
Ajeromi local government area of Lagos State, two weeks ago. Time was 4pm.
Unsure of where to
go to get the money, Nofi reportedly boarded a bus , heading for her aunt’s place in Omokomaiko.
But trouble, as
gathered, started for the girl on reaching Okokomaiko, as she found she had no
idea of the exact area her aunt was living. By then, it was already 9pm, as she
was delayed in the unending gridlock along Lagos/Badagry expressway.
Looking confused,
Nofi, who was left without a dime, reportedly demanded for money from
passers-by, most of whom shunned her.
At that point, it
became glaring that Nofi was in serious trouble.
“ At that instant, I broke into tears,
as negative thoughts ran through my mind. I stood at the bus-stop; and
not knowing what to do at that point, I slept on a table in front
of a supermarket that had closed for the day”.
While asleep, she
said, someone tapped her at about 11.30pm. And when she opened her eyes,
a young man, who showed concern about her predicament, invited her to
spend the night in his house.
