Roland who is into the installation and configuration of computer software and hardware was said to have gone to work before he was declared missing.
A 30-year-old man identified as Roland Omode has been declared missing at Okuokoko in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.
Roland who is into the installation and configuration of computer software and hardware was said to have gone to work before he was declared missing.
One of his family members who confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters said Roland left their residence in Okuokoko around 6 am on Tuesday and that his whereabouts could not be ascertained afterwards.
He said, "Roland Omode has left our residence in Okuokoko since on Tuesday early in the morning by 6 am. He told me he was going to work.
"He is into installation and configuration of computer software and hardware. I have sent several messages on WhatsApp and Facebook messenger but no response yet.
"I have called his friends that I know and family members but none has been able to tell me about his whereabouts.
"In the afternoon after he left for work, the Okuokoko youth chairman came to our place in my absence that (sic) Roland Omode was given N15,000 to give to him and that he has not seen him.
"The Okuokoko youth chairman also came in the evening in my absence but did not still see him."
According to the source, the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are yet to be ascertained.
However, the Okuokoko youth chairman who Identified himself as Power, also told SaharaReporters that he did not know about Roland's movement.
"The issue is that someone gave Roland money to give me and I didn't see him, so I went to their house two times to ask of him for my money,” he said. "I don't know anything about their brother's movement, I have not seen him, and he has not given me my money.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, said the case had not been reported.
Roland’s family are apprehensive because of the alarming rate of kidnappings in Nigeria.
For instance, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in a 2021 report revealed that the rate of kidnapping across Nigeria had increased by 169 per cent in two years.
In the report posted on its website titled: “Six Alternative Ways to Measure Peace in Nigeria”, which was part of its research to understand how Nigeria measured peace, USIP stated that when measured by death toll, Nigeria seemed beset by violence.
USIP’s team went in search of how people in Bauchi, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau states define peace and found out that respondents understand peace as being more than the absence of violence and insecurity.
The research discovered that there is substantial evidence that violence in Nigeria is highly gendered and women value the absence of violence and insecurity as an indicator of peace more than men.
The Institute attributed the increasing rate of insecurity to the poor performance of security agencies which it blamed for making Nigerians resort to self-help by setting up vigilante groups without minding the disadvantages.
“When measured by the death toll, Nigeria seems beset by violence. By some accounts, the COVID-19 pandemic has made experiences of violence even more common — notably, Nigeria recorded a 169 per cent increase in abductions between 2019 and 2020,” the report said.