Amnesty International Nigeria has cried out over the mysterious disappearance of 52-year-old businessman, Anochie Fidel Ezechukwu, allegedly picked up by police operatives more than three years ago.
Ezechukwu was reportedly taken on August 2, 2022, around 4:30 p.m., from his business premises at Umudaraolisa Ehim village, Umunuko Ukpor, Nnewi South LGA of Anambra State. Since that day, his family says they have not set eyes on him, nor received any information about his fate.
According to Amnesty International, one of the vehicles used in the abduction bore the registration number NPF-555-NG, strongly suggesting the involvement of state security agents. The organisation said it is deeply troubling that Ezechukwu has been held incommunicado without charge or trial for over three years.
His family has been left in pain and uncertainty. His 94-year-old mother and wife are said to ask the same haunting question almost daily: “When is he coming home?” Their search for answers has been met with silence from the authorities.
Amnesty International’s latest report paints an even darker picture of Nigeria’s security system. It accused the military, police, and affiliated militias of widespread human rights abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. Between 2011 and now, the group estimates that about 1,200 people have been killed without trial, while 7,000 young men and boys have died in military custody.
The report further noted that many pro-Biafra activists in the South East have vanished without trace, raising fears of systemic targeting. Amnesty alleged that some military commanders either gave direct approval for these abuses or chose to ignore them entirely.
For the Ezechukwu family, however, beyond statistics and reports, the agony remains personal. Every day without answers deepens their grief, as they continue to wait for the return of a husband, a father, and a son whose absence has become a symbol of unanswered questions in Nigeria’s fight against injustice.
