By Prosper Mene
Three weeks after a boat carrying Olajide Oredipe capsized on a river along the Cameroon-Taraba border, the 38-year-old telecommunications technician from Sagamu, Ogun State, remains missing, leaving his family in anguish and raising serious suspicions of murder.
Oredipe, who worked for a Chinese telecommunications firm in Lagos but had been stationed in the remote Abong village, Taraba State, for over a year to install network infrastructure, travelled to Cameroon in late October to purchase cocoa as a side business after facing financial difficulties at work.
According to his wife, Mrs Oluwafunmilayo Samuel, who spoke exclusively to our correspondent, Oredipe sent his first consignment of cocoa on an earlier boat but had to board a second, smaller vessel because the first was full. That second boat, reportedly carrying four passengers and cocoa sacks, capsized while returning to Nigeria.
“Three people swam to safety, but my husband could not swim. They called his name but got no response and, according to what we were told, did not even enter the water to search for him,” Mrs Samuel said.
Conflicting accounts from villagers have deepened the family’s distress. Some claimed the boat had 20 passengers, others said only four. Dates of the incident vary between Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with the family only informed on October 31 or November 1.
Despite extensive searches involving professional divers and five boat skippers provided with fuel to scour the river, no trace of Oredipe or his body has been found – an outcome villagers themselves described as unprecedented.
Oredipe’s MTN line behaves unusually: when called from a phone with credit, it says “not reachable”; when called from a phone without credit, the call “drops” as if the phone is still active.
The cocoa Oredipe purchased in Cameroon was quickly sold by a local man claiming Oredipe owed him money borrowed in Abong village – before any family member arrived.
Survivors have refused one-on-one interviews, insisting three villagers accompany them to “ensure consistent narration”.
Villagers reportedly prioritised saving cocoa sacks over rescuing a drowning man.
The explanation that the boat capsized after hitting a rock while turning back for “forgotten cocoa” has been met with scepticism.
“Their stories keep changing. How can a boat hit a stone in a flowing river and capsize just like that? Why didn’t anyone try to save him? Why has no body surfaced in three weeks when they say it always does within three days?” Mrs Samuel asked.
The family reported the case to police in Taraba State. Two officers accompanied Oredipe’s brother to Abong village but left after deeming the area unsafe and gathering no new information.
Oredipe, father of a three-year-old who celebrated her birthday on November 24 without him, had promised to return home for the occasion after being away for over a year. He turned 38 on November 11.
Speaking through tears, Mrs Samuel said: “He used to call every morning, afternoon, and do video calls in the evening using the village Wi-Fi. That last conversation on Monday keeps replaying in my mind. If I had begged him harder to come home instead of going to Cameroon, maybe he would still be here.”
The family has turned to social media, tagging security agencies and appealing for intervention to compel a proper investigation and grant access to the survivors.
“We are not asking for much,” Mrs Samuel said. “We just want to know what really happened – whether he is dead or alive. He went to provide for his family, not to harm anyone. This pain of not knowing is worse than anything.”
As of press time, neither the Taraba State Police Command nor the Nigerian Navy has issued an official statement on the incident. The family continues to plead for urgent assistance in locating Olajide Oredi
