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More than 16 months after 49-year-old Olaoluwa Adetona, a Roll-out Manager with Globacom, reportedly disappeared in Imo State, his family is still searching for answers about his whereabouts.
Adetona reportedly went missing on May 6, 2025, while on an official assignment in the state.
Since then, his wife, Funmi, their three children and other relatives have been left in uncertainty over whether he is alive, dead, being held somewhere or what happened to him.
The Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organisation (GAFAMORG) and the National Coalition Against Mass Abductions, Atrocities, Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions and Impunity (NCAMKI) have now appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene in the case.
In an open letter dated September 9, 2026, the organisations urged the police to conduct a comprehensive review of the investigation and establish the circumstances surrounding Adetona’s disappearance.
According to the groups, Adetona had travelled to Imo on official duty and visited a site with two expatriates before he reportedly disappeared.
The family reportedly received a call on the evening of May 6 from an unidentified person who answered Adetona’s phone. They later learnt that he had allegedly been kidnapped.
The two expatriates were reportedly released, but Adetona remained missing.
The family also alleged that ransom demands were made and assurances given that he would be released, but there has been no confirmed information about his whereabouts.
GAFAMORG and NCAMKI stressed that they were not asking the police to accept the allegations as established facts, but to investigate them and determine what actually happened.
Among the issues they want investigated is the fate of Adetona’s vehicle, which the family reportedly said was recovered with evidence of gunshots.
The groups said the family had not received credible evidence confirming that Adetona was killed and urged the police to determine whether he was abducted, is still being held somewhere, remains alive or was killed.
If he is dead, they want authorities to establish when, where, how and by whom he was killed, as well as locate and recover his remains.
The organisations called on the IGP to identify the police unit and officer handling the case and provide the family with an official contact for regular updates.
They also urged investigators to reconstruct Adetona’s movements on May 6, 2025, including his official assignment, telephone communications, location history and last known contacts.
The circumstances surrounding the release of the two expatriates should also be examined, while their statements should be obtained and preserved, the groups said.
They further called for forensic examination of the recovered vehicle, including ballistic, DNA, fingerprint and digital analysis.
The organisations also urged investigators to examine alleged ransom demands, relevant telephone numbers and financial transactions and lawfully obtain telecommunications and location data that could help establish Adetona’s movements.
They called for intelligence-led efforts to locate and rescue him if there is any possibility that he remains alive.
For the Adetona family, however, the prolonged uncertainty has become a painful reality.
The organisations said his three children continued to ask their mother, “Where is Daddy?”, while the family has allegedly suffered emotional and financial hardship since his disappearance.
According to the groups, Adetona’s father died in April 2026 after suffering distress over the unresolved case, while his mother is reportedly seriously ill.
GAFAMORG and NCAMKI acknowledged that the allegations surrounding the disappearance remain subject to investigation but maintained that the family deserves answers.
“A missing person is not a statistic. Silence is not an investigation,” the groups said.
They said the case would be considered for inclusion in the GAFAMORG Citizen Justice Tracker, a platform established to document and monitor cases involving missing persons and alleged human rights violations.
The organisations clarified that their intervention was not intended to interfere with police investigations or accuse Globacom, the police, the expatriates or any individual of wrongdoing.
Rather, they said, their objective was to ensure that the truth surrounding Adetona’s disappearance is established.
They urged the police to prosecute anyone found criminally responsible, establish accountability where institutional failure is proven, rescue Adetona if he is alive and, if he is dead, provide his family with credible information, evidence and justice.
