The family members of 13-year old Nigerian
stowaway boy, who flew from Benin to Lagos inside the wheel compartment of an
aircraft, has appealed for his release from custody.
Daniel Oikhena, a Junior Secondary
School (JSS) II student attracted attention when he `flew’ on Arik aircraft on
Saturday Aug. 24.
Miss Sonia Oikhena, elder sister of the
stowaway boy, made the appeal at a news conference in Benin on Saturday.
Sonia said family members were worried
that Daniel was still in detention eight days after the dramatic event.
She urged the Federal Government to order the
security agencies to release the youngster to his family.
She expressed concern that there had
been no contact with the family by those holding Daniel.
“The only contact the family had with
the security agents was when the SSS in Benin invited their mother for
questioning.’’
This, she stressed, had placed the
family in a difficult situation over the issue.
“There has been no word from the
security agencies as to where the boy was being detained or his state of
health.
“We are worried and do not know where my
brother is and his present health condition after flying in such a risky
position.
“My brother should not be held culpable
over the security lapses at the airport.
“If there had been tight security at the
airport, he wouldn’t have succeeded in taking that risk of flying through the
wheel of an aircraft.”
On his part, Desmond, (9), the immediate
younger brother, appealed for his brother’s release “because he acted out of
ignorance.’’
Desmond said he was not however
surprised when the news came to them last Sunday that Daniel was in Lagos.
Desmond said his brother got the idea of
hiding inside the wheel of an aircraft from foreign movies he often watched.
“Daniel has been telling us about plans
to travel to America by hiding inside the wheel compartment of an aircraft.
“We slept in the same room the night
before the incident and we were surprised when he woke up so early.
“He packed his school bag, removed the
books and replaced them with some of his clothes and hung his rosary on his
neck.
“He quietly walked out without anybody
knowing his destination. When my mother started looking for him, I told her to
go to the airport to search for him based on what he has been telling us.
“I want my brother released to us. We
are missing him and want him back home. My family is not happy over the
continued detention of our brother.
“He is just a child and must have acted
out of ignorance; he needs brotherly love and guidance.
“We are appealing to those responsible
for his detention to please consider us because we have no money to fight any
case”, the Desmond pleaded.
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