Seventy-four-year-old Francis Azenabor shares with GRACE EDEMA his pain and frustration over his son’s disappearance after he was arrested 15 months ago by some police officers in Ketu, Lagos State

Where are you from?

I am from Ego Nyemi, Ishan in Edo State. I am 74 years old. I am formerly a technician, but now retired.

What happened to your son, Osas?

On November 1, 2024, I received a call from my son’s wife. They live in Ikorodu. She told me that my son had called her and said he was at Ketu Police Station. According to her, the police raided where he was working and arrested him.

A man who witnessed the incident helped him. My son and others were inside a korope (commercial bus). They had not been taken down from the vehicle. This man, who collects daily contributions from transporters, saw my son inside the vehicle and asked him what happened. My son told him they were arrested under the bridge.

My son did not have a phone, so the man lent him a small phone to call his wife. He called her between 11 am and 12 noon and told her he was at Ketu Police Station. After the call, the man collected the phone back and told the wife to come quickly to bail her husband because they were about to move them.

What happened when his wife got to the station?

Before she arrived at Ketu Police Station from Ikorodu, they had already taken them away. She went inside the station to ask about him, but they said they had not seen anyone like that. She checked the notice board and the station records; his name was not there.

She called us, and we told her to check other nearby stations. She went to Ogudu Police Station and checked the cells, but my son was not there. She then went to Mafoluku Police Station in Oshodi. By the time she got there, she did not have enough money for transport. My wife had to send her money to return home. It was already evening.

What happened the following day?

The next day, November 2, 2024, she went back and repeated the same search at Ketu and other stations. Still, there was no trace of him. She called us and said she had checked everywhere and could not find him.

I told her not to worry. November 3 was a Sunday, so I said I would come myself.

Did you go in person to search for him?

Yes. On Sunday, November 3, my wife and I left very early because we live far from Lagos. We first went to Mafoluku Police Station in Oshodi to begin our own search.

What happened when you got to Mafoluku Police Station?

We asked the officers there about Osas, but they said it was not possible for someone arrested in Ketu to bypass Ketu and Ogudu stations and be brought straight to Mafoluku.

They advised us to go to the Task Force office in Oshodi, suggesting that maybe he was taken there. We went there. When we arrived, we checked, but my son was not among the people there.

What did you do next?

They advised us to go to Badagry Prison Yard. They said sometimes arrested persons are taken directly there. Even though it was Sunday, we went to Badagry Prison Yard. When we got there, we showed them my son’s photograph and gave them his name, but there was no response. They said he was not there. So, we returned.

Did you go back in search of your son after that day?

I went back again to the police station to ask about my son, but they insisted there was nobody with that name. When I got home that Sunday, I called my son’s wife and asked her if she still had the phone number that was used to call her when my son was arrested. She said yes and sent me the number.

I immediately called the number. The man picked up. I introduced myself as the father of Osas. The man said, ‘Daddy, Osas is my friend. If you want to see the person who arrested him, I will show you.’ I told him we would meet the next day, which was Monday, November 4, 2024.

Did you meet him the next day?

Yes. Very early on Monday, we met, and I introduced myself again. He said he would show me the policeman involved. We went inside Ketu Police Station to look for the particular officer, but we could not find him. They said the officer was off duty and asked us to return the following day, the 5th.

I went back again and waited under the bridge. The man I spoke to is someone who collects daily contributions from transporters. I called him, and he told me to wait a little longer.

Later, he called me and said I should come to the back of Ketu Police Station, near the garage. I left where I was sitting under the bridge and went to the Ketu garage.

When I saw him, he waved at me and pointed to a man. He said, ‘This is the man who arrested your son.’

What else did the man who identified the officer tell you?

He told me not to let anyone know that he was the one who informed me.

What happened when you confronted the officer?

Immediately I approached the officer, he started quarrelling with me. I tried to calm him down. I told him, ‘Man to man, let us talk. You did not know me before, and I did not know you before. Let us discuss this peacefully.’ But he refused to listen. He kept arguing with me.

Did anyone try to intervene?

Yes. I called a family member who is a top police officer to speak to him as a policeman, hoping he would have mercy and tell us where my son was. But the officer refused. He said he did not care and that it did not concern him. When the argument became too much, I had to leave him.

What did you do next?

I went inside the police station to report to the DPO (Divisional Police Officer). I explained that the officer I saw was involved in my son’s arrest and that I wanted clarification.

The DPO told me to look for the officer. Before that, he instructed a female police officer to follow me to check the cells and the notice board to see if my son’s name was there. We checked, but his name was not listed anywhere.

Were you able to bring the officer to the DPO?

No. When I returned and told the DPO that I had found the officer, he did not allow me to come inside again. We started speaking over the phone. He told me it did not concern him and that I should go and arrest the officer myself.

I told him that as the DPO, I expected him to invite the officer so I could ask questions. But he refused and said it was none of his business. After that, I no longer had access to see the DPO again.

Did anyone else in the station speak to you?

Yes, there was a woman, a human rights lawyer, inside the station. She asked what I was looking for. I explained everything to her. She asked if I had seen the officer involved. I said yes and told her I had traced him to his office. When I got there, I pointed him out as the man who arrested my son.

What happened after you were asked to speak with the officers?

The policewoman and the officer went inside to speak with the others. After they finished, he came back to me and told me to go inside and talk to them. When I entered the office, there were three officers inside. With me, we were four in total.

I pleaded with them. I said, ‘Whatever my son has done, he is my son. I take responsibility. Please, forgive him. Take it as if I am the one who offended you.’

I even knelt down on both knees and begged them. They reacted in surprise and told me not to kneel. I said my knees would not harm them; I only wanted them to show me my son. Despite my plea, they pushed me out of the office.

What did you do after that?

Some policemen advised me to get a lawyer, saying that only a lawyer could properly handle the matter. So, I hired a lawyer, and we continued pursuing the case.

Along the way, we contacted the man who gave my son the phone to call his wife. He became afraid because the police were also tracing the matter.

One day, when he saw me and my lawyer outside the police station gate, he ran inside shouting, ‘Kidnapper! Kidnapper!’ Immediately, the officers started beating us. They tore my clothes and beat my lawyer. They even tried to detain us.

Did any senior officer intervene?

Yes. The former DPO I had reported to was no longer there, but a new DPO came out after seeing the commotion. He asked what had happened. We explained everything.

An assistant DPO, a woman, also came out and asked questions. We narrated the whole story to her. She called the man who had accused us and asked him to return, but he said he had run away and was going to get his lawyer.

He refused to come back. That was how the matter ended that day. Later, my lawyer wrote a petition against them.

What happened when the matter was escalated?

We were summoned to the command headquarters. At that time, the DPO in charge was CSP Falabi Kazim, who has since been transferred to Kwara State and is now an Assistant Commissioner of Police. At the command, they questioned the officers. They asked if they carried out a raid on November 4, 2024. At first, they denied it. But when pressed, the team leader admitted they conducted a raid.

The team leader’s name is SP Abacho David. He confirmed they carried out a raid and arrested four people but claimed they released them along the road. He denied arresting my son. The officers asked him how a raid could be conducted by one person alone and demanded that his team should appear.

But as it stands, some police officers — including a senior officer — are involved in this matter. So, whenever they hear the story, they act unconcerned.

Immediately we turned back, that man called, the officer also called and said, ‘Your matter is finished. There is nothing they can do.’ Since then, they have been tossing us around from one place to another.

That is how they kept frustrating us. They kept moving us around — even before we went to Panti, the Assistant Commissioner of Police ordered the DPO from Kwara State to come.

When the DPO arrived, the Assistant Commissioner asked him, ‘Do you know him?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ He then asked, ‘How do you know him?’ The DPO said, ‘He reported a case of his missing son to me.’

The Assistant Commissioner then asked me, ‘Do you know him?’ I said, ‘Yes, he is the officer I reported my son’s case to.’ However, the officer later claimed he knew nothing about the case and that it did not concern him. He told me to go and look for my son.

He also told the policemen that this was the man who had him arrested because he saw Abacho Danen in front of that Korope and the daily contributions man standing at the back of it.

He said that Abacho did not know when he gave my son a phone to make a call and that if he had known, he would not have allowed him to give my son the phone.

Why were they waiting for your son?

My son is a transporter. They usually waited on the bridge for passengers. Sometimes two people handled one vehicle — one would drive while the other worked as the conductor. That morning, they were likely waiting for a second person so they could operate together before they were arrested.

They normally shuttled around Ojuelegba, turning under the bridge and returning to continue their trips. That was their routine.

What happened when he was arrested?

They did not drop them off anywhere. They were inside the vehicle in handcuffs and taken away. Some policemen later confirmed to me that they saw Dare, the police officer, hit my son on the left-hand side and wound him before taking him away.

But now, they are saying they did not arrest my son. How can they say that? Did I introduce my son to them? That man confronted them and said they were the ones who held him, beat him, and took him away.

What is your son’s name and age?

His name is Osas. He is 40 years old.

How many children does he have?

He has three children — one boy and two girls. The two girls are with their mother in Ikorodu. The first child is with me and is now in secondary school.

Is Osas your first child?

No, he is my second son. I have five children.

How have his wife and children been coping?

It has been very difficult. The wife says the children are no longer going to school because there is no money. I have been running up and down trying to secure my son’s release, so I have not been able to support them fully. She follows us to police stations sometimes, but things are very hard.

What do you want Nigerians and the police to do?

I want Nigerians to intervene and help me. I believe if the Nigeria Police truly handle this matter, they can resolve it. I have gone to many police stations and prisons searching for my son. I even hired a lawyer.

We went to Falana, and he called the police, telling them they must produce my son — dead or alive. After that call, they transferred us back to the State CID.

I am begging the Nigeria Police, the government, and all Nigerians to help me find my son. It is almost two years now. If they had told me clearly what happened, I would have had peace by now.

Are you afraid something terrible may have happened to him?

I cannot say. If they have, they should tell me. If he is alive, they should let me see him. I am tired of going from one place to another without answers.

What is the latest update?

They have asked me to come to the State CID again tomorrow morning (Wednesday). I don’t know why. They keep calling me back there. (Saturday PUNCH)

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