Family members, close friends, and work associates of Temitope Jimoh, a resident of Ogun State, have raised the alarm over his sudden and unexplained disappearance, filing a formal missing persons report with the Nigeria Police Force after repeated attempts to reach him proved unsuccessful.

Mr. Jimoh, who resided in the Magboro area of Arepo, Ogun State, was last seen in public at his mother’s funeral on July 19, 2024. Family sources report that he became incommunicado in September of the same year, prompting the family to begin a frantic search.

Those who know him describe a man living under considerable personal pressure and expressing deep fears about his safety, making his disappearance all the more alarming.

According to sources, Mr. Jimoh had made no indication of plans to travel, and his sudden silence, with his phone unreachable and his whereabouts entirely unknown, is completely out of character. “Temitope is not the kind of person who disappears without a word,” one neighbor said. “We are terrified. Given everything he had been going through and the state of this country right now, we fear the worst.”

The decision by friends to bring the case to the media now, after months of a passive search, is driven by growing desperation and a lack of concrete leads from initial inquiries. They are now appealing to the public for assistance, hoping that widespread awareness will yield crucial information.

The disappearance comes against the backdrop of a deteriorating security situation across Nigeria that has seen kidnappings, targeted attacks, and killings spread from the country’s north into previously safer regions of the south-west. Security analysts say individuals already known to be under personal threat are particularly vulnerable in the current climate, where organised criminal networks operate with increasing boldness.

The Ogun State Police Command has been at the forefront of efforts to combat kidnapping rings, recently arresting a seven-man gang responsible for a series of abductions in the Ijebu-Igbo area, where victims were killed and buried in shallow graves despite ransom payments . These incidents highlight the grim reality of missing persons cases in the region, where victims are often subjected to extreme violence .

Mr. Jimoh’s work associates say he had not reported to his place of work and had sent no communication explaining his absence, which they describe as entirely unlike him. Friends who had been in regular contact with him say the last time anyone heard from him, he appeared anxious.

The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed receipt of the missing persons report and has stated that investigations are ongoing. However, family members say they have little confidence that the police alone will locate him in time and are calling on civil society organisations, human rights groups, and anyone with information about Mr. Jimoh’s whereabouts to come forward urgently.

“Every day that passes without word from him,” a close associate said, “is a day we are less certain we will see him alive.”