By OKECHUKWU NWANGUMA

When a child disappears, society is supposed to stop in its tracks. The police, as the primary custodian of law and order, are expected to respond with urgency, transparency, and diligence. Sadly, in Nigeria, even the disappearance of a child can be trivialized, politicized, and undermined by power play and corruption.

This is the tragedy of 13-year-old Joel Ozaveshe Odimboro, who has been missing since May 2025. Joel’s case reveals not just a family’s agony but also the dangerous extent to which law enforcement can be compromised when influential individuals intervene to shield suspects.

A Missing Child, A Father’s Silence

Joel had lived with his mother and stepfather all his life, after his biological father, Mr. Taiye Odimboro, abandoned him as an infant. Last year, the boy pleaded to know his father. The family reluctantly allowed contact. Joel went to stay with Mr. Odimboro in August 2024. Less than a year later, he vanished.

What is most shocking is that the father, in whose custody Joel was, failed to raise any alarm. He did not report the disappearance to the police. He did not inform the mother. Instead, he carried on as though nothing had happened until the family discovered, to their horror, that Joel had been missing for months.

When confronted, Mr. Odimboro promised the police at Ajuwon Division, Ogun State, that he would produce the child by June 30, 2025. He has failed to do so. Instead of cooperating, he has filed counter-petitions and sought to malign the mother - classic diversionary tactics.

Police Complicity and a Disturbing Cover-Up

What followed is an even more troubling dimension of this case: police inaction and manipulation. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 2, Lagos, directed that the case file be transferred from Ogun State to Zone 2 for proper handling. Months later, the file is still being hoarded at the divisional level under dubious excuses such as “lack of signal” and reference to the Commissioner of Police.

This deliberate stalling smacks of police complicity. Allegations abound that powerful figures are shielding Mr. Odimboro from scrutiny. Meanwhile, the child remains missing.

The failure to promptly publicize the disappearance - despite calls by the family and civil society - only deepens suspicions of foul play. The father’s refusal to assist in tracing the child raises the darkest fears: that Joel may have been harmed, and that those with influence are aiding a cover-up.

What Is at Stake

This case is no longer just about Joel. It is about whether the Nigerian police can be trusted to defend the most vulnerable. When the system bends to protect suspects at the expense of victims, justice collapses, and the public loses faith in law enforcement.

A missing child should never be subject to bureaucratic delays or political interference. Each passing day without credible investigation puts Joel’s life at greater risk and compounds the trauma of his family.

The Way Forward

This case calls for urgent action on several fronts:

- The AIG, Zone 2 must enforce his directive without further delay, ensure the case file is retrieved, and conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.

- The Police Service Commission (PSC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should independently probe the handling of this case and sanction any officers found complicit.

- Civil society and the media must keep this case alive in public consciousness to prevent it from being buried by delay and complicity.

Nigeria cannot claim to protect children if those responsible for their safety treat their disappearance with such levity. Joel’s case is a test of the state’s commitment to child rights and justice. It is a test the police cannot afford to fail.

Until Joel is found and the truth is revealed, we must not relent. Silence and delay only embolden impunity.

•Okechukwu Nwanguma is Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC).