The Enugu State Police Command has refuted allegations that it abandoned the search for Flourish Uzodimma, an 18-year-old first-year Computer Robotics student at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), who has been missing since November 2024.
The controversy began when Ege Obetta, a social media user and lawyer, alleged on his X account that police officers at Nsukka Urban Police Station failed to pursue the search for the missing student despite receiving a N25,000 tracking fee. Obetta claimed that after locating Flourish’s last known position in Calabar, the police informed her father they could not proceed further due to a lack of contact with the Calabar Police. He further alleged that the police advised the father to travel to Calabar and search for his daughter alone.
In a statement released on Saturday, the police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, described these allegations as “misleading and baseless.” Ndukwe clarified that the student’s father, Charles Uzodimma, reported the matter on December 3, five days after his daughter left their residence in Owerre-Eze Orba, Udenu Local Government Area, for an undisclosed location.
According to Ndukwe, Mr. Uzodimma initially requested that the case be treated as “mere information” and did not request police intervention or pay any tracking fee. Instead, the father independently hired a private tracker, paying N25,000, but tracking efforts were unsuccessful as Flourish’s phone had been switched off.
Later, Mr. Uzodimma provided police with a Facebook photograph of his daughter alongside a girl he had previously warned her against associating with. The girl’s phone number was traced to Calabar, but the police spokesperson did not confirm whether this tracking was conducted by the police or whether the family paid for it.
Ndukwe stated that contrary to claims of negligence, Mr. Uzodimma ceased cooperating with the police, thereby hindering the investigation. He reaffirmed that the case remains under active investigation despite the lack of collaboration from Flourish’s parents.
The police, however, did not comment on whether efforts were made to follow up on the Calabar lead or engage local authorities in the area.
The disappearance of Flourish Uzodimma continues to raise questions about the handling of missing persons cases and the cooperation required between families and law enforcement agencies for effective investigations.
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