•Mrs. Theresa Chidera Mark (C)
The family and associates of an Abuja-based activist, Mr. Justice Mark Chidebere, have raised alarm over his sudden disappearance, with police investigations now underway to determine his whereabouts.
The incident, which has stirred anxiety among his relatives and colleagues, reportedly began earlier in the week after what appeared to be a routine communication abruptly turned into silence, reports Daily Independent.
Recounting the sequence of events, his wife, Mrs. Theresa Chidera Mark, described her last contact with her husband and the confusion that followed.
“I called my husband last time on Tuesday, that was the last time I heard from him, only for his friend to call me in the afternoon, around 11, 12:40 or so, telling me that my husband had just called him to pick me and my daughter up. I said I was confused. I said let me call you back, let me call my husband. And that was how I called my husband’s line; it wasn’t going through. It was saying not reachable. But I sent him a message on WhatsApp. It wasn’t going through.”
She explained that efforts to re-establish contact yielded no result, deepening her concern as conflicting information began to emerge.
“Then I called his friend back to tell him that the person you said called him, I cannot reach him. He called him. He said let him call me back, and then he called me back and said his own line was also not going through. He tried to calm me down and said my husband said he is in a meeting and that the meeting is going to be very long.”
According to her, the explanation did little to ease her anxiety, especially as it was inconsistent with her husband’s usual pattern of communication.
“I didn’t understand at first. He took me home and I waited at home. My mind was not at rest because it is unlike him not to message me or tell me he will be late or something. As late as midnight, I went on social media to look for Peters’ number, and that is how I got his WhatsApp number to ask if the meeting was not over. And he told me there was no meeting to even start with.”
As concern mounted, she said further checks with acquaintances yielded no clarity on his whereabouts.
“I became scared. I was like, my husband told me he went for a meeting, and he said there was no meeting, that if there was any meeting he would have been involved. Then I became very worried and he made some calls but couldn’t find my husband anywhere.”
Appealing for assistance, she described her husband as a devoted family man and urged authorities to help locate him.
“My husband is not a criminal. He is just a simple father with two kids. I don’t know what he has done to deserve this. I just heard that he was tied up since Tuesday till yesterday, under the sun, for what I don’t know.
He is just an activist. That is all. He is not a criminal, he is not a bad person. Please, just release my husband to me. My daughter hasn’t seen her father for quite a while. She has been running temperature during this time.
I have tried everything. Since that Tuesday I have been calling his line. It rang once and nobody picked. Since then, it has not rung again. The messages I have been sending only show delivered. I am confused. It is unlike him. If he is late, he will call me. He has never slept outside the house.
“Please, Nigerian government, I need you to bring my husband back to me and my children. They need their father. My daughter is just six years old. My son is just 11 months. They do not deserve this.”
Providing an update on efforts to trace him, an associate, Peter Akah, said the matter had been formally reported and is being investigated.
“Her husband is my friend, and we are all in the advocacy space. You see him online demanding justice, freedom, and accountability.
“It is unfortunate what happened because she called me on Tuesday night, that was Tuesday, 28th of April, saying she had not heard from her husband and asking if he was with me or if we had a meeting. I said no, we did not have any meeting. I last heard from him last Saturday. So, having made those calls, it became clear his whereabouts were unknown.”
He disclosed that a complaint had been lodged with the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, prompting initial investigative steps.
“We then approached the police, FCT Command, yesterday morning. Myself, his wife, Mr. Peter here, and Flagboy Osita met with the Commissioner of Police. They began investigations and sent his phone numbers for tracking.”
According to him, digital tracking and other checks have provided preliminary clues, though no conclusions have been officially confirmed.
“Meanwhile, one of his neighbours accessed his personal computer, which is linked to one of his phones, to check the last location of the device. The last recorded location on Tuesday at about 5pm was around the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Shopping Complex, Asokoro.
When we went to the police, they did not have that information initially, but we later informed them. The CP’s team also carried out tracking and returned with preliminary findings. By around 10am the next day, messages that were previously not delivering started delivering, meaning the device had been turned on and off again.
By evening, the police tracking also pointed to the same area —the State House Clinic, Nigerian Army War College, and the NAOWA shopping complex —meaning he was within a military facility area.”
He added that investigators are expanding efforts to reconstruct the missing man’s movements and communications prior to his disappearance.
“That is where we are at the moment. We are continuing with the tracking process. We will go back to the police today. The officers in charge said they had issues with the system and needed a full expansion of the tracking to see his movements over the past days, especially from Monday to Tuesday, who he communicated with, and his last known interactions.
That is the latest update from the police.”
As of press time, authorities have not issued an official statement on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, while the family continues to await answers.
