Family bribes Ogun cop to find sawmill worker(Photo)

The family of a 32-year-old sawmill worker, Goke Elekun, says his whereabouts has remained a mystery since about a month ago.

The family said efforts to get the police to find the victim had been abortive, adding that policemen from the Ibafo division, where the case was reported, did nothing to help the family.

It was learnt that the state Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, later referred the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, Eleweran, Abeokuta, for investigation.

However, an officer in Eleweran, whom the DCP referred the family to, allegedly collected N10,000 for the job.

The victim’s mother, Mrs. Foluke Elekun, lamented that the police were not taking the issue seriously, appealing to Nigerians to assist the family.

She said, “My son lived with me in our family house. He started the sawmill work after dropping out of school in JSS 3.

“On Easter Monday, he left the house and said he was going for a naming ceremony in the neighbourhood. That was the last time I saw him.

“But I was told that after the ceremony, he left on a motorcycle to the bus stop and a friend, Michael, pleaded to join him on the motorcycle around 9pm. Michael later alighted and asked him if he was going home, but he said no.“He told Michael that he was going to Iyana Oworo to celebrate Easter with some family members there.”

She said when they could not reach Goke on his mobile phone, they decided to reach out to family members in the Iyana Oworo area. However, the relatives were said to have denied seeing him.

Foluke, a trader, said the matter was reported at different police stations in the state, adding that the efforts to locate him were abortive.

A resident, Ayade Moniaye, who assisted the family to report the matter at the Ibafo division, decried the attitude of the policemen at the station.

He said, “The policemen at Ibafo were contacted on Wednesday, two days after the incident. On Thursday, when we returned there, the statement we made on Wednesday could not be found.

“A new report was made and Michael was invited and interviewed. A photograph of the missing boy was requested with details of his phone, which were given by the mother.

“On Friday, I followed the mother to the Ibafo Police Station to discuss with the DCO 1 around 2pm. He promised that the inspector in charge of the case would send signals to appropriate places.

“On Saturday, we contacted the Ogun State Commissioner of Police and he asked us to go to the station to see the DPO, who then called the inspector to confirm whether the signal and letter seeking approval for MTN to give access to the missing boy’s call log had been sent.”

Moniaye said the DPO rebuked the inspector for not sending the signal, adding that he mandated the officer to travel to the command headquarters in Eleweran with the message that day.

The Ibafo DPO reportedly asked the family to follow up on the matter themselves at Eleweran.

The victim’s stepbrother, Oriyomi, said he travelled with his mother to Eleweran to meet the DCP on the instruction of the state’s CP.

He explained that the DCP said the signal was not appropriately sent.

“The DCP subsequently referred us to a man who told us we ought to know what to do if we wanted to get result,” he said.

A family source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the officer collected N10,000 from the family.

The source said, “We were told that the police needed to get the call records from MTN and they needed money. We gave him N10,000. But  nothing has come out of it. Nobody has called the family to demand ransom. We are worried.”

The Ogun State Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the command would soon get the victim’s call log from MTN.

On the bribery allegation, he said, “The younger brother of the victim said he gave money to a man in mufti. We have asked him to come forward and identify the person. If we discover that the person is an officer, he will be dealt with.”

PUNCH