Family members of a 29-year-old staff
of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Chukwuemeka Aloysius Nwachukwu, have
become frantic after the disappearance of the man.
Nwachukwu disappeared since May, 4,
2014, after he left his family residence at Ojota, telling his younger sister, Chioma
Nwachukwu, that he was going to an ATM to withdraw some money at one of the
banks at Ojota.
The frantic mother, who travelled to
the village when the victim went missing, rushed back and went to Ogundu Police
Station, where Chioma had earlier reported the case.
The woman was allegedly asked to
cough up N20 before investigation could commence.
The police had since served invitations
on Tobechukwu Iwu and Ugochukwu Alfred at Iyana-Ipaja, who were the last
persons to be seen with the missing person.
When the family felt the
investigation was becoming too slow, they had approached the Network on Police
Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN Foundation).
The National Coordinator of NOPRIN,
Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma explained that on the fateful day, Mr. Chukwuemeka had
called his mother Mrs. Monica Nwachukwu, who travelled to the village in Imo
State through a phone number belonging to his cousin Tobechukwu Iwu, a student
of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State who said he came to Lagos for
an interview.
Chukwuemeka informed his mother that Tobechukwu
Iwu and Ugochukwu Alfred called and informed him that they just arrived Ojota
on their way from Imo State to Lagos. They asked him to meet them at Ojota, which
he did and they all went together to Ugochukwu’s residence at Iyana Ipaja.
On May 6, Chioma, who was in tears,
informed her mother that she had not seen her brother since he left the house
to cash money from an ATM on May, 4.
Nwanguma said: “On that same day,
following her mother’s instruction, Chioma went and reported the case of her
missing brother at Ogudu Police Station,
Area ‘H’. The policemen on duty advised her to go around other police
stations to ascertain if he had been arrested and detained at any of them. She
went round all the nearby police stations including Iyana Ipaja police Station,
but could not locate her brother.
“On May, 10, when Mrs. Nwachukwu
returned to Lagos from the burial in her village, she went back with her
daughter to Ogudu Police Station and informed them that she was the mother of
the missing person and inquired about progress of investigation. The police
officers at the station demanded and collected the sum of N20, 000 from her ‘for
investigation’. The police made her to hire
a vehicle with which they went and served invitations on Tobechukwu Iwu and
Ugochukwu Alfred at Iyana-Ipaja.”
According to Nwanguma, Chioma also
informed the police that one Miss Tunmininu had visited her brother on May, 3,
the day before he went missing and had introduced the lady as a friend.
Early morning on Monday, the day
after Nwachukwu got missing, the said Miss Tunmininu called Chioma and said she
had been calling Chukwuemeka since Sunday but his number had not been
available. Chioma asked her if she saw
Chukwuemeka on Sunday or if she went out with him, but the lady said she did
not.
The situation however became
intriguing after Ugochukwu and Tobechukwu revealed that Tunmininu came to Iyana
Ipaja on that Sunday, met with Nwachukwu, then left. Attempts to call the lady
failed, as her phone was unavailable.
“A week later, Tumininu suddenly called
Chioma with a hidden number and said her phone got lost. Because the number was
hidden, there was no way Chioma could get back to Timnuninu to verify why she
denied seeing her brother on Sunday whereas her cousins, Tobechukwu and
Ugochukwu had confirmed that she was with Nwachukwu on that Sunday,” said Nwanguma.
Tobechukwu stated that later that
day, he left the house together with Nwachukwu to the bus stop at Iyana Ipaja. Tobechukwu
said he headed to Abulegba, leaving Nwachukwu at the bus stop to wait for a bus
going to Oshodi.
Nwanguma said that NOPRIN was
concerned that police investigation into this case had not been diligent.
He added: “We are worried that after
collecting N20, 000, not much effort had been put in by the police officers into
investigation. We are surprised that despite credible information about where
Tuminunu works at the moment, the police have also made no serious effort to
arrest and interrogate her. We believe that the police ought to investigate the
reason behind Tuminunu calling Chioma with a hidden number claiming that her
phone got lost.”
Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide
promised to get back to our correspondent.
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