Labour Leader Allegedly Abducted by Nigerian Police, Sparks Concern

Eleojo Opaluwa, an official of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kogi State, has allegedly been abducted by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

According to reports, Mr. Opaluwa was apprehended by members of the NPF’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, on August 4, 2024. Since his arrest, he has reportedly been held incommunicado.

Sources indicate that on the day of his abduction, at around 2:00 PM, Mr. Opaluwa received a phone call and abruptly left his family in Mararaba to meet the caller at a specified location in the area. Eyewitnesses later informed his family that he was forcefully taken by security personnel in vehicles, including a Hilux and a Gulf.

Later that evening, at approximately 5:00 PM, some security personnel in a Toyota Jeep visited the NUEE office in Area 8, Garki, where they inquired about the whereabouts of an employee named “Eleojo” or “Opaluwa.” The office watchman confirmed that Opaluwa worked there but was not present at the time due to the weekend.

Unaware that Mr. Opaluwa had been taken into custody by security operatives, his family began a frantic search for him, eventually reporting his disappearance to the Mararaba Police Station. The police officers reportedly advised the family to return the following day, August 5, if Mr. Opaluwa had not yet returned home. The family complied, providing a photograph and other details necessary for declaring him missing. However, despite fulfilling these requests, the police have yet to officially declare Mr. Opaluwa missing.

In a statement confirming the arrest, NUEE’s Acting General Secretary, Dominic Igwebike, expressed concern over Mr. Opaluwa’s situation. “We are reliably informed that at about 2:00 PM on Sunday, August 4, 2024, Comrade Opaluwa, who is a staff of the NUEE, left his house in Maraba, Nasarawa State, and has not returned home since. It was confirmed that he was whisked away by security personnel in their vehicles to an unknown destination.”

Mr. Igwebike further revealed that on August 8, 2024, at approximately 5:30 PM, Mr. Opaluwa was brought to his office by security officers to conduct a search. He was denied access to communicate with his colleagues and was taken away immediately afterward.

Efforts to reach Mr. Opaluwa via phone have been unsuccessful, and visits to police stations in Maraba and surrounding areas have yielded no information about his whereabouts. NUEE has engaged legal representation to address the situation, including writing to the National Security Adviser to the President.

“We are also reliably informed that Opaluwa is being detained by security personnel at the IRT. We demand his immediate release, as his continued detention since August 4, 2024, constitutes a flagrant abuse of his rights as a Nigerian citizen,” Mr. Igwebike stated.