Following his abduction by suspected Boko Haram members about two weeks ago, the family of a Deputy Superintendent of Customs, Jimoh Folowosele, has appealed to the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), to rescue him from captivity.
Folowosele, an indigene of Aramoko Ekiti in Ekiti West Local Government area of Ekiti State, was abducted alongside two other officers during official duty in Geidam, a border town in Yobe State on February 9, 2021.
Addressing a press conference in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, the victim’s brother, Idowu Folowosele, said the incident has thrown the family into confusion as steps being taken by the Nigerian Customs have not been communicated to the family.
“It is now exactly two weeks that we received the sad news of the abduction of our brother, Jimoh Folowosele, a Deputy Superintendent of Customs in Yobe State and up till now, we have not received any official correspondence from the Customs. Yes, NCS admitted that he was kidnapped but since then, mute has been the word.
“We have always known Col. Ali as an upright and committed Nigerian who values the lives of his officers and we are using this opportunity to call on him to wade in by interacting with law enforcement agencies and other relevant authorities to establish contact with the bandits to see to the release of the officers. In the same manner, we are also appealing to other well-meaning Nigerians to help us appeal to the kidnappers to release our brother.”
A friend of the kidnapped officer, Mr Fola Ayedun, who urged the NSC to get in touch with the family said the trauma of the incident is telling on them.
Ayedun said, “There is no doubt the fact that issues related to kidnapping are sensitive and require strategic approach but even at that, it is important that the NCS is in touch with the immediate family of the victim to lessen the burden and trauma they might be going through.
“In the last 10 days, all his loved ones, especially the wife and children, have been experiencing sleepless nights simply because nobody can hold on to anything that suggests if any plan is being made to secure our Mr Folowosele’s release.”
While noting that the Public Relations Officer of NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, debunked nonchalant attitude towards the matter, Ayedun urged the authorities to match their words with action.
“For God’s sake, this is an abduction that had created crisis in the family. The NCS leadership must not leave any stone unturned to address it. The people abducted were three and NCS shouldn’t be lackadaisical in its action.”