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Wife detained as suspect over missing husband 

By Tobore Efe
28 March 2016   |   3:15 am
It's been nearly 40 days of misery for Mrs. Bridget Ibemesi, who is yet to see her husband, Mr. Raphael Chukwudi Ibemesi, a truck driver with Chrisnak Ventures.
ibemesi

ibemesi

It’s been nearly 40 days of misery for Mrs. Bridget Ibemesi, who is yet to see her husband, Mr. Raphael Chukwudi Ibemesi, a truck driver with Chrisnak Ventures. She last saw her husband, dead or alive, on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, when he made a quick goodbye to his family before hurrying to run an errand for his firm.

Raphael had been sent to deliver some goods to Onitsha in Anambra State and he set out for the journey Tuesday night with his conductor. Sadly, it has turned out to be the journey of no return for the breadwinner.

And more painful for the family is that while they are at a loss over the whereabouts of the missing Raphael, police authorities are allegedly compounding the situation with twists to the case to cover up some unanswered questions the family is asking the firm the missing man has worked with for over six years.

In a tear-laden voice, Mrs. Ibemesi told The Guardian that the whereabouts of her husband has been an unresolved misery. “It took about three days after his last trip before I realized something was wrong. The journey was originally billed for Tuesday night and that was the last day I saw him.

“He had set out on the night journey to Onitsha but their vehicle broke down on the way, so the goods were transferred to another vehicle and they left on Wednesday night. His phone was switched off for two days, which was strange but I didn’t think much about it.

“However, he had planned to be at the village on Friday, February 26 for a burial. It was when he didn’t show up there that it dawned on me that something was wrong. I called the company manager since I didn’t have his conductor’s number and I was told they have been trying to reach him too to no avail as he is yet to arrive at his expected destination.”

Immediately a search party was launched for the missing driver, his conductor and the goods that were being conveyed. Curiously, the goods and the conductor were found but without a trace of the driver.

All the family was told is that on the night of the journey, the driver ran into a group of armed bandits at Sagamu on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, who dragged the driver and his conductor out of the truck and tied them up in the bush. The conductor said he managed to escape and couldn’t say what happened to his co-traveller; an explanation the family is picking holes in.

Attempts by the Ibemesis to find answers to some questions had taken the battle between them and the company to the police, where the case is being twisted and Mrs. Ibemesi being detained as a suspect over her missing husband. She was only released after the company’s manager effected her bail.

The firm’s manager, Mr. Madu Azoro, when contacted, said the matter was being resolved by the police and would not be debated on the pages of the newspaper. “I don’t know the information you have, but it is only the police that can tell you the true situation of things and investigation is ongoing.”

A source informed The Guardian that the case, which was originally being handled by the Ogun State CID in Sagamu has been transferred to Lagos for thorough investigations.

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