A
29-year-old worker with Arik Air, Grace Utum, has reportedly gone
missing. Report says Grace has not been seen since she visited her
lover, one Ihuoma Amelogu, who lives in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos
State
.Grace, a graduate of Accounting, University of Calabar, is believed
to be working in the hospitality department of Arik. She had left her
Ikeja office for her lover’s house on January 1, 2016.
A mobile phone and a handbag belonging to the victim were found in her lover’s apartment on the day she went missing.
However, the case was reported at the Ojodu Police Division and
32-year-old Amelogu was reportedly arrested and later released after
police said there was nothing to connect him with the disappearance, The
Punch reports.
When contacted, Amelogu, a civil engineer, said he last communicated with Grace around 3pm on January 1.
He explained that efforts to get across to her through her friends had been abortive.
He said, “We were together on December 31, 2015; she slept at my
place. She sometimes stayed at my place because her office in Ikeja is
closer to my house in Ojodu Berger. She rented an apartment in Agbado
Crossing, Ogun State.
“Around 6am on January 1, she said she was going to the office. We
always had a family reunion every New Year at my uncle’s place in Ajah,
so we planned to meet there.
“I spoke with her around 12 noon. Then around 3pm, when I was at my
uncle’s place, we communicated again and I asked if she was still
coming. She said she was rounding off at the office and would soon join
me.”
He said his girlfriend’s line, however, became unreachable around 5pm and despite calling till 7pm, he didn’t get through.
He said her mother called him from Port Harcourt around 10pm to ask if he had seen her daughter.
“Her mother said she called her and a stranger picked it and said the
phone was missing. I was surprised because she (Grace) didn’t call me
that she had misplaced her phone.
“I decided to call the number myself, but it was unreachable. I kept calling till 2am, when it was switched off,” he added.
An uncle of the victim, Felix Omini, explained that the family became
worried after her mother called one of her telephone lines and a
stranger picked the call.
He said, “Her mother called her that night and discovered that it was
a stranger that picked the call. The stranger said the phone was
missing and its owner had called him and said she was coming for it in
company of a man.
“Grace’s mother called her boyfriend, Amelogu, thinking he was the
man the stranger was referring to. But he said he had also been trying
to reach her without success.”
Omini said he called Amelogu and together they went to report the matter at the police station.
The victim’s father, Obongha Utum, said Grace and Amelogu had been
dating for three years and would have been married, but for a problem
with their blood compatibility.
According to her father, “The police said we should talk to the
boyfriend because that was where she said she was going, but I don’t
know what to think. They are church members and were supposed to have
been married; but that became impossible after they discovered their
genotypes were not compatible.
“We have also gone to Agbado Crossing in Ogun State, where she lived
with a friend. We didn’t meet anybody in the house; everywhere was
deserted.”
It was gathered that Grace’s family contacted a telecommunication
company to track her calls, but they were asked to get a court order.
Access to her bank accounts were also said to have been blocked.
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Dolapo Badmos,
confirmed the incident, adding that the police arrested Amelogu and
later released him.
She said, “Necessary police procedure to be done in the case of the
missing person has been done. The boyfriend, who was actually the
complainant, was arrested and investigated, but there was nothing to
link him with Grace’s disappearance, hence his release. But
investigation is ongoing.”
Also, the Arik Air spokesperson, Adebanji Ola, confirmed the
incident, adding that the company was working with the family and the
police to get to the roots of the case.
“Yes, she works with us. She has not reported for duty for some time
now and we were told she was missing. The family and the police have
been here and we are doing everything possible to support
investigations,” Ola said.
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