Families demand govt action as kidnapped defence staff remain unaccounted for

Families demand govt action as kidnapped defence staff remain unaccounted for

Walter Emeribe, husband of abducted Ministry of Defence staff member Adeline Emeribe, has appealed to the Federal Government to disclose the truth about his wife’s whereabouts after she was kidnapped alongside five colleagues on the Lagos–Kabba–Lokoja Highway.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Emeribe lamented that no official from the Ministry of Defence had reached out to him since the November 9 ambush. He said he has been left in the dark and forced to seek information on his own.

“Actually, nobody from the Ministry of Defence has contacted me. Nobody told me anything,” he said, explaining that he only received acknowledgement from his wife’s workplace, the Command Secondary School, Ojo Military Cantonment.

Mrs. Adeline was travelling from Lagos to Abuja with other staff of the Command Day Secondary School (CDSS) Ojo for a promotion examination when their bus was attacked on the long-troubled Kabba–Lokoja route. While four of the six kidnapped ministry workers have been rescued — Mrs. Helen Ezeakor, Mrs. Ladoye C.A., Mrs Ngozi Ibeziakor, and Mrs. Essien Catherine — two remain missing: Mrs. Adeline Emeribe and Mrs. Juliana Onwuzurike.

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Emeribe narrated that his wife boarded a 14-seater Andyliz Transport Company bus at 7:46 AM and last communicated from Akure at 1:30 PM. By 4 PM, her lines became unreachable. After several failed attempts, he visited the transport company, where he learned of the kidnapping.

He further expressed frustration at the lack of updates from both the ministry and the transport company, accusing the latter of withholding information.

When reports emerged that all six abducted staff had been freed, Emeribe said he was devastated to discover it was untrue.

“If they released six, where is my wife? And where is the other woman, Mrs. Juliana Onwuzuruike?” he asked.

He has since visited various Defence offices in search of answers, only to be told vaguely that “they are working on it.”

Emeribe issued an emotional plea to the Minister of Defence, urging immediate action.

“What I want now is for the Minister of Defence to tell me where my wife is — whether she is dead or alive. She was sent on official assignment. They should come out and tell me something.”

He called on security agencies to intensify efforts to locate both missing women and to compel the transport company to cooperate with families seeking answers.

He insisted that government authorities, the police, and relevant agencies must “speak up and act” to end the uncertainty surrounding his wife’s fate.

Families demand govt action as kidnapped defence staff remain unaccounted for