‘Please, help me find my father’

Eight-year-old boy appeals to Ogun police to help find his missing dad
IT is more than two weeks since a 41-year-old man, Abel Daniel, was last seen. Abel, who works as a security guard at Adeomo Abija, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos left his Sango, Ogun State home on June 17, 2015 and is yet to return.

According to family members all efforts to find Abel, who lives with his only son, Michael, have hit brick walls. But Michael is not yet ready to give in to the fact that his father could be gone forever.

Little Michael believes his father could be stranded somewhere and in need of assistance.

Narrating his story to The Guardian, Michael recalled: “That fateful Tuesday, my father came home a bit earlier than he used to and bought me a lot of things. The next day, before he dropped me off at school, he told me that I should come home on time, as we would go to church in the evening. I waited the whole day till night when my uncle, Daniel, came and carried me to his own house.”

“Please, I need my father back. He is all I have in this world. I have never seen my mother, may be she is also missing. Help me find my Daddy. It is possible that he lost his phone and that is why he has not called me. Help me, please,” Michael who spoke intelligently, pleaded.

Displaying some of the artwork that he made while they were waiting for police attention, Michael hinted that his dream is to become an artist.

“If you come to my house, my father’s picture is hanging on the wall. I was the one who drew it. I know that my father will come back. The only problem is that police are wasting time. Police should find him because I know that he would be very hungry now.”

Abel’s elder brother, Etim, who has since taken over the guardian of little Michael, alleged that when he visited his brother’s office in Lagos, his colleagues said they were unaware of his whereabouts.

According to Etim: “Abel is my junior brother and we live on the same street known as Owoyemi Street, Sango, Ogun State. He was based in Abuja before I convinced him to come to Lagos for a better job. He came with little Michael whom he had out of wedlock. Luckily, I was able to secure a job for him at my office as a private security guard. All has been well till I received a call from his fiancée based in Akwa Ibom State. She said that she had been trying to reach Abel all day.”

“I tried to call his numbers and they were all switched off. Initially I was not bothered since there was a possibility that his phone battery could go off. I became alarmed when I got home that night and he was yet to return. I waited till the next day and reported the matter at Sango Police Station. I am begging Nigerians to assist me with any useful information as to his whereabouts,”

According to him: “Abel is light in complexion; 6.1m tall, speaks Efik and English fluently. He left with his Nissan Prado with number plate EY118SMK. He is always at home if he doesn’t go to office because of his son. He finds it difficult to sleep outside because of his son whom he raises alone. I do not know his son’s mother or where to find her. Nigerians should help me locate my brother.”

Several phone calls that The Guardian made to the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), to ascertain the progress made so far in the search for Michael’s father, did not get any response.