Nightmare as friends, family search for missing Ejerovbo

The three- day Eid el-fitri holiday celebration was not a good one for family, friends and associates of Mr. Hope Ejerovbo who left home for a walk on Monday morning and has not returned since then.

Ejerovbo, who operates an equipment leasing company in Warri, left the oil city for Lagos on Sunday and was received by his niece at House 6, Road 24, Ikota villa estate, Ajah, Lagos.

The 49-year old father of three, according to his friend, Chukwumeka Obi, a Lagos based pharmacist, was supposed to travel to the United Kingdom, where his family resides and the Lagos visit was to facilitate that trip. However, that was not to be as his family and friends have since been running helter-skelter without any head way since Monday. The police seem stumped and helpless, leaving family and friends even more bewildered. The visit by Ejerovobo, described as a thorough person, has turned into a nightmare, as nobody seems to be able to explain what could have happened. His friend, Obi confirmed that the victim’s phones are unreachable and nobody has called for a ransom, greatly ruling out the possibility of a kidnap.

As the search for his safe return intensifies, Obi says he is greatly concerned about the victim’s children. Narrating the sad tale to The Guardian yesterday, Obi said Ejerovbo was last seen at about 7:00am on Monday, near the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos. “He came from Warri to visit his niece who is married to Mr. Abraham Ekewedoye and they live in Lekki. Abraham told me that the victim decided to take a walk down the street to familiarize himself with the environment and never returned. He is an easy-going man, very thorough and does not have many friends”, he said.

Speaking to The Guardian, Ekewedoye said, “I saw him when I came out of my room in the morning and he said he was going to take a walk down the street. I believed it would be a short walk because he does not really know this area. In fact, it was my wife who opened the gate for him and that was the last we saw of him. At around 8:30am, we started becoming worried about his whereabouts. We tried calling his mobile phone and discovered it was switched off and that got us extremely worried. I stepped out and searched the whole neighbourhood till noon but did not find him. I then went to the police station to report him missing.”

A police report obtained from the Ajah Police station shows that the case was reported on Tuesday by one Abraham Ekewedoye of House 6, Road 24 Ikota Villa estate, Ajah Lagos and was accompanied by one Mr. Chukwuemeka Obi.

According to the report, the victim, who speaks Urhobo and English fluently, arrived from Warri in Delta with the intention of traveling to London. “He is dark complexioned and about five feet ten inches tall”, the report reveals. Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmus confirmed the incidence and enjoins the public to report any information that could lead to his discovery.