The family of a Lagos-based man, Osas Azenabor, has faulted the continued silence of the state Police Command over his whereabouts, 15 months after he was allegedly arrested.

The family claimed that every effort made to get the police to account for their son’s whereabouts has proved abortive.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, Osas’s father, Francis Azenabor, said his son was arrested on 1 November 2024 during a police raid.

He stated that Osas was arrested at Mile 12 and was reportedly taken to Ketu Police Station. He added that an eyewitness at the scene of the arrest advised his son to call his family, which he did.

The father said that when Osas’s wife arrived at the station, she was told that her husband was not there.

According to him, the policemen on duty told her that her husband was not at the station and advised her to check Ogudu or any other police station to make further enquiries.

He said, “She went to other stations, but there was no record of her husband there as well. The following day, which was Sunday, his mother and I went to Oshodi Police Station.

“They said it was not possible for them to have arrested people in Ketu and brought them to their station. We searched everywhere but still couldn’t find him. We went to Badagry Prison and Kirikiri, but we still didn’t find him.”

Francis revealed that an eyewitness, who helped Osas contact his wife and informed her of the situation, confirmed that he was brought to Ketu Police Station.

“The man whose phone my son used to call showed me the police officer who held my son at Ketu Police Station. I saw the officer at a Baba Ijebu shop. I went to meet him, and as soon as he saw me, he started quarrelling.

“He didn’t allow me to speak because he recognised me as Osas’s father. When you see me, you see my son. I had already spoken to the Divisional Police Officer about this matter, but nothing came out of it,” Francis said.

He added that he had made efforts to get the police leadership in the state to act on the matter, but each time he visited a division, he was directed elsewhere in what he described as a continuous cycle.

Francis noted that at one point, the officers who arrested his son were detained following the order of a senior police officer, but they were later released.

He said he had involved lawyers and visited correctional centres and several police divisions without finding his son.

He faulted the police’s silence and inability to provide answers regarding his son’s whereabouts, adding that he had been advised to seek the intervention of higher police authorities.

“My son has been missing for 15 months after his arrest. I need help from higher police authorities, the Inspector-General of Police, and every Nigerian who can help me on this matter.

“It has been almost two years since I last saw my son. He has three children. I don’t know how I will explain to them,” Francis added.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, had yet to respond to enquiries sent to her on the matter as of the time of filing this report on Monday.

Similarly, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, did not respond to calls as of press time. (The PUNCH)

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