Pictured! Arik Staff Goes Missing After Visiting Boyfriend

A worker with Arik Air, Grace Utum, has gone missing after a
visit to her lover, Ihuoma Amelogu, who lives in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos
State.

It was learnt that the 29-year-old Cross River State
indigene had left her Ikeja office for her lover’s house on January 1, 2016. However,
her whereabouts had since been shrouded in mystery.

Grace, a graduate of Accounting, University of Calabar, was
said to be working in the hospitality department of Arik. The case was reported
at the Ojodu Police Division and Amelogu was reportedly arrested.

It was learnt that a mobile phone and a handbag belonging to
the victim were found in his apartment on the day Grace went missing. He was,
however, released after police said there was nothing to connect him with the
disappearance.

An uncle of the victim, Felix Omini, explained that the
family became worried after her mother called one of her telephone lines and a
stranger picked the call.

He said, “Her mother called her that night and discovered
that it was a stranger that picked the call. The stranger said the phone was
missing and its owner had called him and said she was coming for it in company
with a man.

“Grace’s mother called her boyfriend, Amelogu, thinking he
was the man the stranger was referring to. But he said he had also been trying
to reach her without success.”

Omini said he called 32-year-old Amelogu and together they
went to report the matter at the police station.

The victim’s father, Obongha Utum, said Grace and Amelogu
had been dating for three years and would have been married, but for a problem
with their blood compatibility.

He said, “The police said we should talk to the boyfriend
because that was where she said she was going, but I don’t know what to think.
They are church members and were supposed to have been married; but that became
impossible after they discovered their genotypes were not compatible.

“We have also gone to Agbado Crossing in Ogun State, where
she lived with a friend. We didn’t meet anybody in the house; everywhere was
deserted.”

When contacted, Amelogu said he last communicated with Grace
around 3pm on January 1. He explained that efforts to get across to her through
her friends had been abortive.

He said, “We were together on December 31, 2015; she slept
at my place. She sometimes stayed at my place because her office in Ikeja is
closer to my house in Ojodu Berger. She rented an apartment in Agbado Crossing,
Ogun State.

“Around 6am on January 1, she said she was going to the
office. We always had a family reunion every New Year at my uncle’s place in
Ajah, so we planned to meet there.

“I spoke with her around 12 noon. Then around 3pm, when I
was at my uncle’s place, we communicated again and I asked if she was still
coming. She said she was rounding off at the office and would soon join me.”

The civil engineer said his girlfriend’s line, however,
became unreachable around 5pm and despite calling till 7pm, he didn’t get
through.

He said her mother called him from Port Harcourt around 10pm
to ask if he had seen her daughter.

“Her mother said she called her and a stranger picked it and
said the phone was missing. I was surprised because she (Grace) didn’t call me
that she had misplaced her phone.

“I decided to call the number myself, but it was
unreachable. I kept calling till 2am, when it was switched off,” he added.

It was gathered that Grace’s family contacted a
telecommunication company to track her calls, but they were asked to get a
court order. Access to her bank accounts were also said to have been blocked.

The Arik Air spokesperson, Adebanji Ola, confirmed the
incident, adding that the company was working with the family and the police to
get to the roots of the case.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, also
confirmed the incident, adding that the police arrested Amelogu and later
released him.

She said, “Necessary police procedure to be done in the case
of the missing person has been done. The boyfriend, who was actually the
complainant, was arrested and investigated, but there was nothing to link him
with Grace’s disappearance, hence his release. But investigation is ongoing.”

Punch