Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The family of a serving police officer, Inspector Eku Egim Eku, has accused the Imo State Police Command of institutional abandonment, revealing that five days after the inspector was violently abducted by heavily armed gunmen while on official duty, the command has neither deployed search teams nor publicly acknowledged the incident. The abduction occurred on Monday, 25 May 2026, along a notorious stretch of road in the Orlu axis of Imo State, a geographic zone that security analysts have repeatedly identified as a high‑risk corridor for violent attacks on uniformed personnel.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on Saturday, 30 May 2026, a direct sibling of the abducted officer disclosed that Inspector Eku had been officially detailed by his unit command to provide armed security escort and bank guard services at a financial institution in Orlu town – a routine assignment that required him to travel through an area that has been heavily criminalised by violent separatist gunmen and rogue militia cells. The inspector was intercepted mid‑journey, disarmed, and forcibly dragged into the dense forests that terrorists in the state routinely use as operational bases. “One inspector, EKU EGIM EKU, has been kidnapped by armed terrorists in Imo State,” the victim’s brother told SaharaReporters. “The said inspector is my brother. He was kidnapped on Monday while on his way to Orlu in Imo State for a bank guard duty.”
What has transformed a tragic abduction into a full‑blown crisis of confidence is the family’s allegation of official neglect. According to the sibling, every frantic appeal for assistance made to the state police command has been stonewalled, with Commissioner of Police Audu Garba Bosso allegedly showing absolute “indifference” to the plight of an officer who was carrying out a lawful duty in full uniform. “All efforts from us the family proved abortive as the command CP is totally not willing to offer any support,” the heartbroken sibling revealed. The family confirmed that as of Saturday, five full days after the abduction, the command had not initiated standard hostage‑rescue protocols, deployed tactical search teams, or even offered a shred of operational or psychological solidarity to the officer’s immediate kin.
The Orlu senatorial district, where the abduction took place, has become one of the most dangerous operational theatres for uniformed personnel in the South‑East. Security analysts have documented a grim pattern of attacks on soldiers, police operatives and civil defence corps members along this axis, with dozens killed, decapitated or vanished without a trace over the past few years. Intelligence reports have long warned that the dense forest networks surrounding Orlu provide cover for well‑armed non‑state actors who move freely between communities, exploiting the absence of tactical air surveillance and adequately armoured troop transport. Lower‑ranking officers assigned to bank guard or escort duties are often left vulnerable to ambush, travelling in unprotected vehicles along unmonitored routes.
The Imo State Police Command’s silence has only added to the family’s anguish. SaharaReporters reported that all attempts to reach the command’s Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, were unsuccessful, as the spokesperson did not answer multiple phone calls and failed to respond to a detailed text message seeking comment on the development as of the time of filing. This refusal to communicate stands in stark contrast to the urgency that families of abducted civilians often demand from the same authorities – and has raised troubling questions about whether the command treats the abduction of its own personnel with the same institutional indifference that critics have long accused it of displaying toward ordinary citizens.
The inspector’s disappearance also sheds light on deeper operational failures within Nigeria’s police force, particularly the lack of standardised safety protocols for officers deployed to high‑risk zones. Security experts have repeatedly called for mandatory armoured transport, real‑time vehicle tracking and air surveillance for units assigned to volatile areas like Orlu, but such measures remain rare, leaving rank‑and‑file officers to fend for themselves on roads where ambushes have become routine. Inspector Eku, like countless others before him, was sent into that corridor with no special protection, no evacuation plan and no rapid‑response backup.
As of Saturday evening, 30 May 2026, the inspector’s whereabouts remain unknown. No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, and no ransom demand has been made public. The family has called on the Inspector‑General of Police to intervene directly, demanding that tactical teams be deployed immediately and that the Commissioner of Police be compelled to account for his inaction. The Imo State Police Command, meanwhile, continues its silence – leaving the family of one of its own officers to navigate the nightmare of an abduction alone, without a single official word of acknowledgment or promise of help.
The ordeal of Inspector Eku Egim Eku is a stark reminder that in Nigeria’s worsening security environment, even those sworn to protect are not safe – and that when they fall, they may well be forgotten by the very institution that sent them into harm’s way.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com
📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News
🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew
📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments