Wife pleads for help in finding husband kidnapped 16 months ago in Imo

Funmi Adetona, the wife of Globacom worker Olaoluwa Adetona, has called on the telecom company, security agencies, and Nigerian authorities to help find her husband.

Mr Adetona, a roll-out manager at Globacom, was taken on 6 May 2025 around 12:30 p.m. He was returning from an official work trip in Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State.

His family reported that the 49-year-old was kidnapped when gunmen attacked him and two expatriates in the area.

The two expatriates managed to escape during the attack while the kidnappers took Mr Adetona and his vehicle, a Toyota Hilux truck.

In a series of video clips shared on Facebook on Sunday, Mrs Adetona spoke to reporters in Ibadan, Oyo State. She said she became worried when she called her husband on the evening of 6 May 2025 and an unknown person picked up his phone.

When she asked to speak with her husband, the person, thought to be one of the kidnappers, insulted her and refused to let her talk to him.

After many failed attempts to reach her husband on his other phone line, she called his housemate in Imo State.

The housemate first said he could not get in touch with Mr Adetona since morning but later confirmed that her husband had been kidnapped.

Mrs Adetona explained that her husband had gone out for a site acquisition job with two expatriates who had come from Lagos.

She was shocked to learn that the two expatriates were released while her husband was still in captivity. This made her suspicious since the company did not inform her right away after the incident.

She only started asking questions after hearing about the incident herself. “Since that day till now, I have not spoken with my husband. I have not heard his voice or received any direct communication from him,” she said, crying.

Mrs Adetona also claimed that the people who had her husband’s phone later asked for N1 million before she could speak with him.

When she told some of his colleagues, they advised her not to call again since the company was handling the situation.

The wife said she later heard that the company had paid the ransom, and her husband would be released. But that did not happen.

She expressed worry over what she called poor communication between the company and the family. Mrs Adetona then went to Lagos to speak with Globacom officials, including the head of the Roll-out Department and the company’s chief security officer, to get updates about her husband.

She was initially told that the officials knew nothing about the incident, but she insisted the company should know about an employee who vanished while on official duty.

She and other family members also traveled to Imo State to visit the police and ask for help in finding her husband.

“From May, June, July, August, September and even November (2025), we kept hearing that they were working on it. But nobody could tell us exactly what was happening,” she said.

Mrs Adetona mentioned that the family met with Globacom officials in Lagos in November after receiving little information for months.

She claimed they were repeatedly assured that efforts were ongoing to find her husband, but no real information was given to them later.

This situation has greatly affected the family, especially their three children, who keep asking about their father.

She shared that before his disappearance, her husband frequently traveled between Imo and Ibadan to see them. His long absence has been tough for the kids to handle.

“My children are missing their daddy, and they keep asking me every day, ‘Where is our daddy?’ I tell them he went on a trip and will return soon.

“But it is over a year now. How long do I keep telling them that? He is far away.

“Before this happened, he used to come home every two weeks to see us. Now, we have not seen him for over a year,” she said.

The wife said this disappearance has affected her husband’s extended family, especially his mother.

Mrs Adetona recalled that her father-in-law passed away on 6 April 2026 after reportedly struggling emotionally with his son's disappearance.

According to her, they recently buried him. She added that the long uncertainty about Mr Adetona’s whereabouts has worsened their grief.

She said her husband’s mother has also become very ill and cannot walk without help.

“It has been very hard for everyone. My children, his siblings, and his mother are all affected. I have to stay strong for the children,” she said.

Mrs Adetona also questioned reports given to the family about her husband’s vehicle.

She said they were told that security agents found the vehicle and that it had been shot at, which suggested that the victim might be dead.

The distressed wife said the family has not been shown any proof that he is dead.

“We saw the vehicle. There is no way someone would be shot, and there would not be blood in the vehicle. There was no drop of blood. If he is dead, give us proof. There is no proof that he is dead,” she said.

Mrs Adetona emphasized that she is not trying to blame anyone but just wants to know what happened to her husband.

“I don’t know what is going on. Are they playing with us? They should bring my husband back,” she said.

She also questioned the release of the two expatriates who were taken with her husband.

“The expatriates are out. How did they get free? Why is my husband still missing? My husband is a Nigerian. Why are they not searching for him? Why is nothing being done?” she asked.

Mrs Adetona was surprised that Globacom continued paying her husband’s salary into her account in September 2025, even with his absence.

She noted that the family recently hired a lawyer to formally demand answers from the company. She said the lawyer has sent several letters to Globacom, with about four letters sent so far without a proper response.

The wife then appealed to Globacom, the police, the State Security Service, and other relevant authorities to give the family clear information about the case and increase efforts to find her husband.

“What I want is for them to bring my husband back to me. If he is alive, let them find him and bring him home. If something has happened to him, let the family know the truth and provide evidence.

“We cannot keep living like this. It has been 16 months. We need to know where our husband, father, and son is,” she said.

When reached on Monday, the police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Adetona was indeed kidnapped in the state on 6 May 2025.

Mr Okoye, a deputy superintendent of police, said the police in the state are doing their best to rescue the victim.

He mentioned that the police have conducted necessary tracking analysis and are carrying out a thorough investigation to recover the victim.

“We are hopeful that, soon, our investigations and operations will yield results and possibly rescue the victim,” he said.

Our reporter asked why the police had not rescued the victim since his kidnapping nearly 16 months ago, despite the tracking analysis and investigations.

But Mr Okoye said rescuing kidnap victims is usually done in a coordinated way to ensure the victims' safety.

“We have been doing our best,” he said about the police efforts to rescue Mr Adetona.