A prominent human rights organisation has accused the Nigerian Police of complicity and engaging in a cover-up regarding the disappearance of 13-year-old Joel Ozaveshe Odimboro, who has been missing since May 2025.
In a scathing statement dated October 3, 2025, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) claimed that a high-level police directive to investigate the case has been deliberately stalled, suggesting interference by influential individuals aiming to protect the boy’s father, Mr. Taiye Odimboro.
Joel was reportedly in the custody of his father when he vanished. According to RULAAC, Mr. Odimboro not only failed to report his son’s disappearance but also gave a written undertaking to police at Ajuwon Division, Ogun State, to produce the child by June 30, 2025—a promise he has not fulfilled.
“Instead of cooperating, he has resorted to filing counter-petitions and making spurious allegations against the mother—conduct consistent with an attempt to evade accountability,” said Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of RULAAC.
The case has been further complicated by alleged obstruction from within the police force. RULAAC noted that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 2, Lagos, had ordered the case file to be transferred from Ogun State to his command for a more thorough investigation. However, the directive has been ignored for months.
“Shockingly, this directive has been stalled with flimsy excuses such as ‘lack of signal’ and referrals to the Commissioner of Police,” the statement read. “These delaying tactics raise serious concerns of protection and complicity.”
RULAAC alleges that the father has refused to disclose his address or cooperate with efforts to publicize Joel’s disappearance, heightening fears of foul play. “Every day without a credible, independent investigation endangers Joel’s life,” the group warned.
In response, RULAAC has issued a series of demands: The AIG, Zone 2, Lagos, must immediately enforce his directive to take over the investigation and ensure a prompt and impartial inquiry and the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should launch an independent probe into the handling of the case and sanction any officers found to have compromised or obstructed justice.
Also civil society, media, and human rights defenders are urged to amplify the case to prevent it from “dying a natural death” through delay and manipulation.
“The disappearance of a child is not a routine case, it is an emergency,” Nwanguma concluded. “It demands decisive, transparent, and professional action from the police, not foot-dragging or power play.”
RULAAC has pledged to continue supporting Joel Odimboro’s family until the truth is uncovered and justice is delivered.
