2nd February, 2011
A Dubai-based Nigerian family has been declared missing after they embarked on a journey from Lagos to Asaba, Delta State. The family of four has been missing for seven days now.
The Onyeocha family, including Edna, 35, and her three kids, Loveth, 11, Precious, 8, Golden, 6 and Edna’s cousin, Chinyere, left Lagos last Wednesday in a chartered Toyota Camry saloon car with registration number LAGOS KU 108 EKY.
Ugochukwu Onyeocha, Edna’s husband and father of the missing kids, told P.M. NEWS that he and his family came into the country on Monday, 24 January for a holiday from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, their base. The last time the family came to Nigeria was five years ago.
But last Wednesday morning, he hired a cab that came to pick them up at Jakande Estate, Isolo, where they all stayed with his wife’s sister, before their ill-fated journey to the Delta State capital.
According to Ugochukwu, an accountant, his wife, Edna, a staff of Standard Chartered Bank, Dubai, and the children left for the trip around 10a.m. in a car driven by a man called Godfrey Emmanuel Inalegwu, who works for a car hire outfit.
Ugochukwu said he last spoke with his wife at around 11a.m. of that Wednesday and later around 3p.m. when he tried to check on them. But he could no longer reach her afterwards as her phone was switched off.
Ugochukwu was now disturbed by his inability to reach his family.
“I again called her phone to confirm their safety but her phone was still switched off. I later gave up, thinking probably because they were on the expressway, and there was no network. After some time, I tried again and the phone remained dead.
“My kids don’t use phones so I didn’t bother to call them. At a point, I thought maybe she was tired and wanted to rest. So, later I went to bed.â€
But early the next day, Ugochukwu’s mother-in-law, whom the Onyeochas were going to visit in Asaba, was the first to call, asking after them. Ugochukwu was stunned when his wife’s mom told him she was yet to set eyes on his family.
“After my mother-in-law gave me this shocking news, I quickly picked my phone and tried my wife’s line over and over but it remained switched off.
“I then rushed to the Red Cab park in Amuwo Odofin, to look for the driver named Olajide that brought the driver that took my family on the journey, but I didn’t meet him. I asked after him from his colleagues and they said he came around in the morning and left.
“I asked for his number and called him but his number was switched off. So I left and dropped my number with them that he should call me as soon as he comes. He did call me later but had no clues as to their whereabouts.â€
The missing family are suspected to have been abducted somewhere near Otu Costain – a border town between Ondo and Edo States – based on the record on the map of the tracking device attached to the car they were travelling in.
“The map showed that the vehicle left Lagos around 10 a.m. and passed Ore. They got to a place called Otu Costain, the car stopped there for six minutes and continued again; after that nothing could be seen again on the map. Whatever happened to my family could have occurred at that point,†Onyeocha told P.M.NEWS.
Meanwhile, the matter is now being investigated by detectives at the Force Criminal Investigations Department, FCID, Panti, in Yaba. Ugochukwu first reported the case at the Festac Police Station before it was transferred to Panti.
The last time the family came to Nigeria was five years ago.
—Funsho Arogundade
