THE whereabouts of five policemen serving in the Osun State Command have remained unknown eight months after they embarked on a special operation in Abia State.
This newspaper gathered that six policemen attached to the Anti-Robbery Unit of the State Criminal Investigations Department were dispatched to Abia State for an operational assignment on February 12, 2024.
The team, consisting of five male and one female officers, was investigating an armed robbery case, with one of the suspects tracked to Abia State.
The officers lodged in a hotel in Asaba, Delta State, on the night of February 12, and continued their journey to Abia the next day, according to the families of three of the officers.
However, on their way to Abia, the policemen were reportedly attacked by gunmen, as one of the officers escaped.
Since the attack, neither the bodies nor the whereabouts of the five missing officers have been confirmed.
A civilian driver who drove the policemen’s vehicle was also reported missing.
Speaking with this newspaper, the husband of Adepimpe Ayowole, the only female among the missing officers, Adekonipekun accused the police of indifference regarding the matter.
According to him, the police didn’t visit or call since the day all the families of the policemen were briefed on their disappearance.
Adekonipekun said, “My wife, Adepimpe Ayowole, with Force Number 068986, is among the officers who went on a special operation in Abia State. They left Osogbo on February 12, slept in Asaba, and continued their journey on the 13th. I spoke with her around 8 am, but since then, I have not been able to reach her. We were told they were attacked.”
He added, “Since the initial briefing by a deputy police commissioner, the police have provided no updates. There have been no visits or calls from the police. None of the department members, including their supervisors, have reached out. It’s been very discouraging.
“Our lawyer’s petition was ignored, and all our attempts to communicate with the police have been futile. The officer who escaped the attack has not been made available for us to meet him. It seems like the police are trying to bury the case.”
Similarly, Funmilola Egundeyi, the wife of one of the missing policemen, Paul Egundeyi, urged the police to provide information on her husband’s disappearance.
She criticised the police for their lack of support and concern.
She said, “I spoke to my husband around 7 am the next day, but by 10 am, his number was no longer reachable.”
“The deputy commissioner informed us on Saturday (February 17) that they were attacked. I later heard through another wife that three officers were killed during the attack. I frequently visit the police headquarters, but all they tell me is, ‘There is no update.’ Life has been unbearable for me and our two children.”
Mrs Bilkisu Durosaro, the wife of another missing policeman, Jimoh Fatiu, revealed that the police had not officially informed her of her husband’s fate.
“I found out about the incident from his brother, who is also a policeman. But since then, the police have not called or visited me. I wasn’t included in the meeting at the police command, and no one has told me what happened to my husband. Life has been challenging, but I believe my husband is alive and will return home to me,” she said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Osun Command, Mrs Yemisi Opalola, referred our correspondent to the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
But Adejobi didn’t respond to messages sent to his phone, just as his number was not reachable for call.