The Punch reports that Grace Utum, a
worker with Arik Air, has gone missing after paying a visit to her lover in
Ojodu Berger area of Lagos state.
Utum had
reportedly left her Ikeja office for the house of her lover, Ihuoma
Amelogu, on January 1, 2016 and her whereabouts have since been unknown.
The
Accounting graduate from the University of Calabar (UNICAL), was working in the
hospitality department of the airline before the unfortunate incident occurred.
Amelogu has since been arrested by
officers attached to the Ojodu police division and a mobile phone with a
handbag belonging to the victim were found in his apartment on the day Grace
went missing.
In a rather
unusual manner, however, the police officers were said to have released the
loverboy after confirming that there was nothing to connect him with the
disappearance.
Felix Omini,
who is a relation of the lady in question, said they became worried after her
mother called one of her telephone lines and a stranger picked the call.
“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 with 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,” he
explained, adding that he called 32-year-old Amelogu to follow him to the
station where they reported the matter.
Obongha
Utum, father of the missing lady, informed that the pair had been courting for
three years and would have gotten married but for a problem with their
blood compatibility.
He
explained: “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.”
Narrating
his side to the report, Amelogu 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.
“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.”
Efforts by
Utum’s family to track her calls through a telecommunication company met brick
wall as they were asked to get a court order while her bank accounts were
also said to have been blocked.
Confirming
the incident, the Arik Air spokesperson, Adebanji Ola, stated 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,” he explained.
SP Dolapo
Badmos, the Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed the
incident, saying, “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.”
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