More than 16 months after 49 year old Olaoluwa Adetona, a Roll out Manager with Globacom, reportedly disappeared while on official assignment in Imo State, his family is still searching for answers over his whereabouts.
Adetona reportedly went missing on May 6, 2025, after travelling to Imo State for an official assignment.
His wife, Funmi Adetona, their three children and other family members have since been left uncertain about 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, Kayode Egbetokun, to intervene and ensure that the circumstances surrounding Adetona’s disappearance are fully established.
In an open letter dated September 9, 2026, the organisations urged the police not to allow the case to fade from public attention simply because more than a year has elapsed.
According to the groups, Adetona was in Imo State on official assignment and had visited a site with two expatriates when he reportedly disappeared.
The family alleged that an unidentified person answered Adetona’s phone on the evening of May 6, 2025, after which they reportedly learnt that he had been kidnapped.
The two expatriates were reportedly released, while Adetona remained missing.
The family further alleged that ransom demands were subsequently made and assurances given that he would be released, but his whereabouts have remained unknown.
GAFAMORG and NCAMKI stressed that they were not asking the police to accept the allegations as established facts, but to investigate the claims and determine what actually happened.
Among the issues the organisations want resolved 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 been provided with credible evidence confirming that Adetona was killed, and therefore urged the police to establish whether he is alive, was abducted, is being held somewhere or was killed.
If he is confirmed dead, they want the 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 order a comprehensive review of the investigation, identify the police unit and officer handling the case, and provide the family with an official contact through whom regular updates can be obtained.
They also urged investigators to reconstruct Adetona’s movements on May 6, 2025, including his official assignment, telephone calls, location history and last known contacts.
The groups further called for investigations into the circumstances surrounding the release of the two expatriates and urged authorities to secure their statements.
They requested a forensic examination of the recovered vehicle, including ballistic, DNA, fingerprint and digital evidence, as well as investigation of alleged ransom demands, telephone numbers and financial transactions.
The organisations also urged the police to lawfully obtain and examine relevant telecommunications and location data and intensify intelligence-led efforts to locate and rescue Adetona if there is any possibility that he remains alive.
For the Adetona family, the prolonged uncertainty has continued to take an emotional and financial toll.
The organisations said Mrs Adetona had reported that her three children continued to ask, “Where is Daddy?”
They also alleged that Adetona’s father died in April 2026 after suffering distress over the unresolved disappearance, while his mother is seriously ill.
GAFAMORG and NCAMKI acknowledged that the allegations surrounding the case still require verification, but maintained that the family’s suffering should not be ignored.
“A missing person is not a statistic. Silence is not an investigation,” the organisations said.
They announced that 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 emphasised 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, hold any person accountable if institutional failure is established, rescue Adetona if he is alive and, if he is confirmed dead, provide his family with credible information, evidence and justice.
