They were six girls, who went to Lounge 24 Gaga, a nightclub in
Awka, the Anambra State capital, on September 17. They are Calista,
Uju, Lovelyn, Ada, Chika and Annabel. All of them are friends and
live close to one another. When they returned to their hostels the
following morning, one of them – Annabel – could not be found.
According to the Nation ,the 300-Level English Language and
Literature student of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in
Awka has not been seen anywhere, 43 days after she went to the
night club with her friends. She is the only girl in a family of three.
Annabel, 24, a native of Enugu State, was last seen on Wednesday,
September 17 evening, when she left her Paradise City Hostel in
Iyiagu Estate, Awka.When she was leaving the club, Annabel
reportedly left at midnight with a guy she met at the club. That was
the last time she was seen.
Annabel’s friend and hostel mate, who simply gave her name as
Ifeoma, said after clubbing, the girls decided to find a place to sleep
before returning to their hostels. But Annabel, she said, told her
friends she wanted to go with Mmiri, a male acquaintance, she met
at the club. She was said to have told her friends that she was in
need of money, which could have informed her decision to go
away with the guy.
When she did not return in the morning, it was learnt that Ada and
Chika called Annabel’s phone but were disappointed to hear a male
voice claiming to have found the phone on the ground and asked
the ‘owner’ to come for it.
Ada and Chika, it was gathered, retrieved the phone and
contacted Annabel’s elder brother, Ifeanyi, who reported the
matter at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in
Awka.
CAMPUSLIFE learnt that Ada and Chika were detained for
alleged complicity but were later released on bail.When
contacted on the phone, it was learnt that Mmiri claimed
Annabel left his house at 3:30am when she refused to enter
his room.
But, after the conversation, Mmiri reportedly switched off his
phone and stopped going to a popular bar, where he drinks with
his friends. He is nowhere to be found.
Our correspondent’s efforts to speak with Annabel’s friends she
went to the nightclub with were futile. All of them declined to
comment on the issue.
Annabel’s roommate, Ukamaka, gave an account of what happened
when she spoke to CAMPUSLIFE on telephone.She said:
“Annabel told me she was going to the club that evening. Her
friends, Ada and Chika, waited in the compound till they were
joined by their other friends. I had a premonition of the
incident in a dream I had the previous night. I told her not to
go to the club but she refused. When the other three girls
arrived, they all left together. When she did not return in the
morning, I called her line but nobody picked. Later, a man
claimed he found it.”
Asked to describe the kind of person Annabel is, Ukamaka said that
her roommate is a good Christian and hardworking, saying Annabel
is a good tailor. “I believe Annabel is a victim of circumstance,”
Ifeanyi said his family remained devastated by the incident.
“We are devastated at the moment. When I received the news,
I travelled from Onitsha to Awka to report the matter at the
police station. The matter is still being attended to at SCID and
“B” Division. We have even gone spiritual to seek God’s help to
find my missing sister. Our Dad is late but mum is highly
disorganised.”
Ifeanyi said the matter had been reported to the UNIZIK
management.Annabel’s mother in Onitsha, fought back tears as
neighbours consoled her. She said:
“I warned my daughter to stay clear of bad friends, but she
would not listen. When she was admitted in a hospital a few
months ago, my spirit never accepted the kind of girls who
visited her. Now, they have done their worst. I can’t see my
daughter, now. Where is my only daughter? Annabel was
seven months in my womb when my husband died.”
Mrs Edeh said she had consulted a prophet, who confirmed to her
that her daughter is alive but held captive somewhere. She claimed
that the prophet informed her that it was Annabel’s friends that
facilitated her ‘abduction’ and threatened to sue them if her
daughter did not return within days.
She added:
“All I am asking is the safe return of my daughter. I have no
other girl. If she was kidnapped, those holding her would have
called us. I am confused. We are only praying to God and
hoping that she returns home safe and alive. I am pleading
with anyone, who knows her whereabouts, to give useful
information that can help us to locate her.”,
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