Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A pastor in Akwa Ibom State, whose 23‑year‑old son is a 300‑level Theatre Arts student of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), has made a desperate appeal to the Inspector‑General of Police, Tunji Rilwan Disu, to intervene in a kidnapping case that has defied every security effort for more than six months. Pastor Aniefiok Asian, a clergyman of the Solid Rock Kingdom Church in Uyo, told the Punch newspaper that his son, Utibeabasi Asian (also identified as Utibe Asian), was abducted on 3 December 2025 after leaving home to buy material for a church convention. The kidnappers, who used the victim’s own mobile phone to communicate with the family, initially demanded a staggering N30 million ransom. After frantic negotiations, the family succeeded in reducing the amount to N500 000. On 13 December 2025, the money was paid into a Moniepoint PoS account bearing the name Uzor Onuoha Enterprise Bank. The abductors then instructed the family to go to Abak Local Government Area in the evening to pick up their son. The pastor and his wife drove to a central meeting point called Ekom Iman Junction and waited for the call that never came. The kidnappers have not contacted the family again, and the whereabouts of Utibeabasi remain unknown.
The pastor recounted that his son left home on the morning of 3 December 2025, telling his parents he was going to buy fabric for the church’s annual convention, which was to be held in Uyo. He said he would also visit the workers’ council in the state capital. That was the last time any member of the family saw him. According to Pastor Asian, the abductors used his son’s own phone number to reach out to the family, a tactic that made it impossible for relatives to contact the victim directly. After the ransom was paid and the promised release never materialised, the pastor reported the matter to several security agencies. He first approached the Anti‑Kidnapping Unit of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command on 5 December 2025, where his statement was taken by an officer identified as Mrs Jumbo and an Investigating Police Officer (IPO) was assigned to the case. When the investigation appeared to stall, the pastor escalated the matter to the Department of State Services (DSS) and also wrote to the state Commissioner for Internal Security, retired Major General Uko Essien. He later petitioned the SWAT unit and finally submitted a formal complaint to the Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare.
Despite these efforts, the pastor said no concrete breakthrough has been recorded. While the Anti‑Kidnapping Unit was able to identify the PoS account that received the ransom, they could not trace the PoS operator or locate the victim. “When I call them, they always tell me that they are on the matter. Later, when we call them, they would not answer. When I visit them, they behave as if they do not know me or have never seen me before, even when I have paid the money they demanded,” Pastor Asian told Punch. He added that it was about four months after the abduction before the Commissioner of Police acknowledged the case. According to the pastor, a journalist helped him contact the state Police Public Relations Officer and the Commissioner, but the CP’s response was that he had never heard of the kidnapping and that the father should report through the command’s official channels. The pastor, who has since written a formal petition to the CP, is now calling on the Inspector‑General of Police to take personal control of the matter and deploy all available resources to rescue his son.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Commissioner, Baba Azare, however, told newsmen on 19 May that the command had not been officially informed of the case through its formal reporting system. “I have advised the father of the victim to report through our official channels. Once that is done, we will follow up immediately,” CP Azare said, as quoted by Daily Post. The commissioner’s statement contradicts the family’s repeated assertions that they have filed petitions and visited the command on several occasions. The family has noted that the Anti‑Kidnapping Unit had already been working on the case, and an IPO was assigned as far back as December 2025.
Pastor Asian has now taken his appeal directly to the IGP, expressing frustration that the security agencies have been unable to act on clues such as the PoS account details and the phone number used by the abductors. “I still believe that the security agencies can do their work, and I want the IGP to form a rescue team to bring back my son,” he was quoted as saying in a Newswatch report.
The victim, Utibeabasi Asian, is a 300‑level Theatre Arts student of UNIUYO. His disappearance has become a symbol of the growing incidence of kidnapping for ransom in the South‑South and a test of the responsiveness of Nigeria’s security apparatus. The case also highlights a disturbing pattern where families who pay ransoms are often left in limbo, with victims neither released nor accounted for. As the pastor told Punch, “When the delay became too much, a journalist told me to contact the state Police Public Relations Officer or the state Commissioner of Police.” The journalist’s advice may have led to the CP’s belated acknowledgment of the case, but for Pastor Asian and his wife, the silence from their son’s phone remains the loudest sound they have heard in six months.
As of 31 May 2026, Utibeabasi Asian is still missing, and the kidnappers have made no further demands. The Inspector‑General of Police has not yet publicly responded to the pastor’s plea. The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has not issued a statement on the progress of the investigation since CP Azare’s remarks on 19 May. For the Asian family, each passing day is a reminder that for some victims of kidnapping in Nigeria, paying the ransom is not the end of the nightmare – it is only the beginning of a longer, darker silence.
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