Five wedding guests en route to Uyo, Awka Ibom State from Lagos who were reported to have gone incommunicado for two days have confirmed their safety.
Human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, who brought the incident to the public on Wednesday, shared footage of the five travellers affirming their safety and appreciating the general public for their concerns.
The 41-minute clip, posted late Friday, featured the alleged missing travellers, who individually identified themselves by their names.
One of the travellers said, “My name is Femi Adedeji. Thank you guys. We are back home. We are safe.”
Attached to the footage is a caption by the Activist, titled: ‘The Missing Five Travellers From Lagos To Uyo Where Abducted By Unknown Gunmen’.
The caption read further: “The five left Lagos on a Tuesday morning and arrived in Anambra late at night. They then slept in a hotel. Wednesday morning, they continued their journey using Google Maps.
“The map took them to Okigwe-Okwelle Road, Imo State where they were abducted by unknown gunmen wearing masks.
“They stated that they were blindfolded and taken into the bush, where they were kept until Thursday evening before being released.
“They claimed that their abductors were targeting uniformed personnel and spared their lives for that reason.
“The families expressed their gratitude to everyone who shared the post.
“I would like to extend my appreciation to the POLICE PRO Anambra State Police Command for his prompt response and public statement regarding this matter.”
On Thursday, THE WHISTLER reported that the travellers departed Lagos State on Tuesday ahead of a wedding in Uyo.
They had a layover in an undisclosed hotel in Anambra State on Tuesday night, with the intent to continue the journey the following day.
By Wednesday, a concerned relative contacted Gwamnishu, complaining of having lost contact with the travellers, whose phone lines were switched off after repeated unanswered calls.
THE WHISTLER contacted the Anambra State Police on Thursday about the situation. The command said it was yet to receive such a complaint across its Divisions in the state.
The police released a statement asking the families of the alleged missing persons and Gwamnishu to report to the State Command headquarters in Awka or report to any police station near them to elicit more information.
However, by late Friday, the police said they had not received any official complaints from the affected family members or Gwamnishu nor recorded any visit by any of the parties.
The command said Gwamnishu simply commented on its initial statement shared via the command’s Facebook page.
The release read: “The Command initially didn’t want to join words with the publisher and issued a Press Statement on 22nd May 2025, seeking useful information and inviting the relatives of the victims to the Command for necessary action (if truly such an incident happened).
“Harrison was said to have gone to the Command Facebook handle and commented ‘Thank you. They are strangers and the family are on their way to the East. They will report today so your office can assist.
“Given the above, all attempts by the Command to get Harrison to produce the relatives of the victims have so far proved abortive as the disturbing news has made some of our followers fault the efforts of the Police and other security agencies on the relative calm and enhanced safety that the State has been experiencing.
“Also, it has brought reproach, on the enthusiasm and commitment of Ndi Anambra to collaborate with the security agencies to fish out the bad eggs in the State.
“The Command shall, nevertheless, continue to explore strategies and remains committed to consolidating on the gains in crime prevention, restoration of law and order and improving on the safety and security of lives in the State.”
