The Anambra State Police Command has appealed to the public for relevant information regarding five individuals who were declared missing while transiting through the state.
A viral news circulating on social media claim that the travellers, who left Lagos for Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, became unreachable after a stopover in Anambra.
Human Rights Advocate, Harrison Gwamnishu, amplified the concerns on Wednesday by sharing a complaint from a worried acquaintance of the missing individuals.
He posted their photos and names on his Facebook page, stating that they had not been heard from more than 24 hours after leaving Lagos for a wedding.
According to the report, the group had planned to spend the night at a hotel in Anambra before continuing their journey the next day.
The post read, “They left Shimawa-Lagos yesterday; they called around 7:00pm yesterday that they have gotten to Asaba and looking for where to eat.
“After an hour they continued the trip and got to Anambra, and they concluded on sleeping in a hotel and continue the journey this morning.
“The last time we spoke with them was around 10:00pm when we believed they were already tired and needed some little rest.
“So, this morning around 6:16am; one of them posted his wife on WhatsApp status to wish her a happy birthday, and that was the last time we get any means of communication with them.
“We tried to call five of them it was switched off, both on WhatsApp and phone calls. At about 10:30am today, one of their phones rang severally and no one pick up the call and later the phone was switched off till now.
“We have contacted Anambra Police Command and no news yet. Please help us to broadcast this sir. Wedding is tomorrow (four male friends) and (Groom sister). That’s five.”
Reacting to the development in a press statement released on Thursday, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, said that the police have intercepted the information on the alleged missing persons.
Ikenga, however, urged the social media user and the publisher to collaborate with the police and other security agencies to offer useful information to enable them to take necessary action.
Ikenga said, “The Anambra State Police Command today 22nd May 2025 intercepted a social media publication stating that five persons on transit in Anambra to seek for accommodation got missing.
“The command joins the publisher to seek useful information for the police and other security agencies to enable them to take necessary action.
“Further to this, the command requests the family or relatives of the victims to report to the police headquarters for more insight on the incident.
“So far, there has not been any report like that before in any Police Division or formation in the state.”
According to him, the Command occasionally reviews operational strategies and implements security initiatives to enhance safety, foster community engagement and uphold the rule of law.
“Given, the above the recent security assessment and feedback reveals that Ndi Anambra are exhausted with criminals threatening their peace, and destroying economic activities of the State, especially on Monday and has shown more commitment to collaborate with the security agencies to fish out the bad eggs in the State.
“To this end, members of the public are encouraged to report to the Police and/or any security outfit on any security-related incident. Otherwise, they should call us on 07039194332 for a prompt response.
“The ‘npf rescue me app’ is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS device, for Android and iPhone users respectively,” Ikenga added.
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