The families of nine young men, from Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, are now in fear of their safety as they went missing in Plateau State, while on their way to Nasarawa State.
According to the parents of the missing travellers, all the nine, riding on five motorcycles, were last heard from after being released by security agents at a checkpoint on the boundary between Plateau and Bauchi states, popularly known as ‘Welcome to Jos,’ because of the ban on movement during the rerun elections that held on Saturday.
The parents gave the names of the young men c as; Usman Rufa’i, Umaru Suleman, Usama Abdulhamidu, Gaddafi Yakubu, Yau Abdullahi, Babangida Alhaji Sale, Nuru Inusa, Baso Taure and Musa Sani.
The spokesmen of the Plateau State Police Command, DSP Alabo Alfred, and Operation Safe Haven, Captain Oya James, did not respond to the inquiries on the development, as SMS sent to them were not replied to and calls were also not answered.
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But the Chairman of Kirfi Local Government Council, Alhaji Abdulkadir Umar Dewu, who confirmed the missing of the travellers, explained that for the past three days, there has been no information about their whereabouts.
Dewu said Kirfi LGA and the entire people of Kirfi have been thrown into confusion, adding that they have engaged in various ways of searching for their whereabouts, hoping that Allah Almighty will help them get information to locate them.
Speaking further on the development, Suleiman Salihu Unguwar Gawo Kirfi, who is the father of Umaru Suleiman, one of the missing persons, said, “The young men usually go to Lafia to do commercial motorcycles (Okada) to earn a living. They left Unguwar Gawo at about 6.20am on their way to Lafia but when they reached a military checkpoint at Welcome to Jos they were stopped over restrictions of vehicular movement during the election.
“The security men at the checkpoint asked them to go to a nearby filling station called (Gidan Man Jagab) and park their motorcycles and wait until the restriction was lifted in the evening which they did. Throughout the period they were at the filling station and we were communicating with them.
“When they called to inform us that the restriction was lifted and they wanted to continue their journey, we advised them to sleep at the filing station and continue the next morning due to the fragile nature of peace in Plateau State.
“One Malam Abdullahi from Lafia called his younger brother who was among them and also advised them to spend the night at the filling station and continue the journey on Sunday morning but they insisted on continuing with the journey. Around 6pm on Saturday, all their phone numbers went off and since then we have not heard anything from them.
“At about 6:30 pm one of them, Usama Rufai, sent a text message to his father saying “Baba please kindly help us with prayers” and that was the last communication we saw from them. All their phones were not reachable since then. Only God knows where they are,” Salihu said.
“But yesterday (Monday) the phone number of one of them, Nuru, was ringing but no one picked up the calls. We tried the number of another victim, Yau, which also rang but it was not picked up. Also, the phone number of Sadique rang but no one picked up the call while the phone number of the remaining six of them remained switched off,” Salihu said.
“Among them, two are married with children while the remaining seven are not married. We have reported the matter to the Kirfi Divisional Police Office and the DPO told us that they have commenced investigation about the matter.”
When contacted, Bauchi Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ahmed Wakil, directed our reporter to Plateau or Nasarawa Police commands for comments on the missing travellers
The father of one of the missing motorcyclists, Abdulhamidu Mohammed, of Unguwar Gawo Kirfi, said his son Sadique, alongside his colleagues, left Kirfi on Saturday on their way to Nasarawa State. “When they reached Jos, capital of Plateau State, they were stopped because of rerun election in the state.
“When we called they told us that they stayed at Gidanman Jagab (Filing station) up until 5:30pm when they were released when the election restriction was over.”
Mohammed said, “They were advised to stay the night at the filling station and continue the journey the next morning but they insisted on continuing their journey and from there, we could not reach them on the phone up to this moment.
‘Today marked three days without any information about them, and we could not ascertain their whereabouts. Their relatives from Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, also called to complain that they have not heard from them since they called while in Jos. One of the relatives in Lafia even attempted a search mission along the road, but we advised him against it.
“We are now making our efforts to search for them to know in what condition they are and that is our major concern because we don’t know whether they are alive or not as all their phones are not reachable.
“We have reported the matter to security agents and the local government council here in Kirfi and right now the council chairman has discussed with the DPO in Kirfi to find a vehicle to convey some families of the victims to Jos today (Tuesday).”
Another parent of the missing young men, Ahmed Ibrahim Gawo, said his son, Sadique, left Kirfi on Saturday. “They were stopped by security men in Jos over movement restrictions but when the restriction was lifted, they called and informed us that they had continued with their journey that was the last time we spoke with them and their phones went off till now.
“We are really worried and traumatised by their situation because we don’t know what happened to them. We are appealing to the authorities, especially security agents, to investigate the matter and find out where they are. We have embarked on fervent prayers for Allah Almighty to reveal their whereabouts,”
A senior brother to one of the victims, Saddam Yakubu, told Daily Trust that he was the one who usually organized the journey and gave them a guide on the roads to follow from Kirfi to Lafia.
“I used to go with them on Okada before my younger brother joined the venture. When I got capital, I started a provision business here in Kirfi. We have many other young men from Kirfi going to Lafia to do Okada or Keke Napep business to earn a living.
“The situation has plunged us into unimaginable apprehension and anxiety since Saturday because we don’t have any information about what really happened to them or information on how we can get reliable contact to know their whereabouts. The team has been travelling to Lafia without any obstacles for many years.
“The young men usually go to Lafia to hustle, especially doing the Okada rider job for three months, and then return home to rest before going back again. They always use their motorcycles to travel to Lafia and return safely to Kirfi. None of the victims travelled by car to Lafia; instead, they used their motorcycles, following the route from Jos to Mangu, Shendam, and then to Lafia.
“Our prayer is that they are safe and alive and we are praying for Allah’s intervention to know where they are. We are hoping that they’re either with security agents or whoever and no harm will come to them because we are all in terrible condition with their families.
Many cannot sleep, especially their parents and other relatives. We are highly disturbed moving from the police, the district and the local government chairman to help us locate them dead or alive,” Yakubu added.
