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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

11 years on, Edo family still searching for missing relative

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Under investigation
  • A Nigerian family is still searching for their son, Anthony Isabor, who disappeared 11 years and three months ago after traveling to Belgium.
  • Anthony's younger brother, Sunday Joseph Isabor, has repeatedly petitioned Belgian and Nigerian authorities, including the Belgian embassy and NAPTIP, without success.
  • The family lives in uncertainty, unsure if Anthony is alive or dead, and pleads for any information that could help locate him.

For over a decade, the Isabor family has been trapped in a harrowing state of uncertainty, desperately seeking answers about the fate of their son, Anthony Isabor. It has been 11 years and three months since Anthony, who was working as a teacher, left Nigeria for Belgium in search of a better life and subsequently vanished.

This June makes it 11 years and three months that Anthony Isabor has remained incommunicado. Anthony Isabor is my elder brother. He was working as a teacher at a Nursery and Primary School before he travelled.

— Sunday Joseph IsaborDescribing the duration and circumstances of his brother's disappearance.

His younger brother, Sunday Joseph Isabor, has become the primary advocate for the family, tirelessly petitioning various authorities. He has reached out to the Belgian embassy in Abuja, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium. Despite providing information, including the presence of a suspect in Nigeria last year, the family has seen little progress.

I have petitioned the Belgium embassy in Abuja they didn’t acknowledge my letter. I got in touch with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons several times, but they couldn’t help the situation, even after the family informed them of the visit to Nigeria of the suspect who is involved in the disappearance case of our brother and son in May last year for her younger brother’s wedding.

— Sunday Joseph IsaborDetailing the family's efforts to involve authorities and the lack of response.

Sunday described the emotional toll of the prolonged disappearance, especially as Anthony's birthday recently passed. "We are trapped in uncertainty with no information about whether he is alive or dead. We have not just heard from him again. That uncertainty is worse than bad news," he stated, pleading for anyone with information to come forward.

I am Mr Sunday Joseph Isabor, the younger brother to Anthony Isabor, I’m most traumatised because last week June 9, was Anthony’s birthday. My family is extremely in distress over his disappearance.

— Sunday Joseph IsaborExpressing the family's ongoing trauma and distress.

Anthony, originally from Edo State, reportedly left Nigeria on March 5, 2015, through arrangements made by a cousin residing in Belgium. The last communication from him was a call to his mother shortly after arriving abroad. Since then, silence has prevailed, leaving the family in agonizing suspense and fueling their relentless quest for the truth.

We are trapped in uncertainty with no information about whether he is alive or dead. We have not just heard from him again. That uncertainty is worse than bad news. We’re begging anyone with any useful information to kindly contact the nearest Police Station or your office.

— Sunday Joseph IsaborPleading for information and describing the psychological impact of the unknown.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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