By Onozure Dania

The family members of a 12-year-old  girl, Chisom Iheancho, who left home six months ago and has not  been seen or returned home till now, are still running around to unravel the mystery surrounding her disappearance. Chisom was at the time she went missing, a Primary 6 pupil of Saint Francis Primary School in Maryland. No one had seen or heard from her  since she went missing six months ago.

What started like a play that will soon end was to turn into a nightmare for Mr Chuba  Obi and his wife, Happiness of No 7, Ajiboye Street in Mende,s Maryland as the wife’s niece, who they described as their daughter, left the house on November 22, 2011.

Reflecting on the baffling incident, Mr. Obi said  Chisom is more of a daughter to him than his wife’s niece, adding that though young, she is a very smart girl, whom he believes left home on her own volition.

Chisom

“All though she is my wife’s elder sister’s daughter, but  Chisom is more like our daughter and I am sure she left home of her own volition but where she could be is what I don’t know. I am appealing to people out there to please help if they know her whereabouts”.

When asked if he believed Chisom could actually run away from home, he said the girl left after she was reprimanded for stealing some money, adding that she had been stealing money for a while and had always promised to turn a new leaf.

He added that it was also not the first time she would run away from home as she had done the same a month before.
“A month earlier, she ran away from home when we scolded her over her bad habit of stealing. At that period she was brought home by someone who knew her and the person advised me to take her back to the village before she would cause trouble for me.

“I agreed with this suggestion and asked someone to come from the village to pick her but on the eve of her departure, I changed my mind when she came to me in the night to plead that I should allow her finish her primary six because if she left then, she will be forced to repeat the class in the village.

“So I saw reasons with her and when the neighbours also appealed on her behalf I gave in but her stealing continued until the last time that she left again. I know she left on  her accord; what happened to her after this is what I do not know,” Chuba stated.

The Obi family says  Chisom’s disappearance  is making life difficult for them as they get messages from the village regularly, urging them to look for the girl and bring her home.

They are appealing to members of the public who have any information about Chisom to pass it across so they can find out what actually happened to her.

The family also said they are  anguished about the development, adding that not knowing the fate of their daughter was worse than the finality of death.