The disappearance of Abubakar Maliki, a Customs officer from Kano State, has caused distress for his family, who last heard from him when he traveled to Lagos for a promotional exam.
In an interview with PUNCH Metro on Monday, Maliki’s daughter, Zeenat, revealed that her father left Kano for Lagos the previous Monday to take the exam. She had been in contact with him until Wednesday, the day of his exam.
After their last conversation on Wednesday morning, Maliki mentioned he was about to enter the exam hall. However, Zeenat couldn’t reach him later in the day as his phone was continuously busy, leading her to assume he was still in the exam.
Efforts to reach him on Thursday were futile as his phone was off, causing mounting worry for Zeenat and her mother who hadn’t heard from him either since Wednesday.
Zeenat shared, “I tried calling him on Wednesday multiple times without any luck. When his line was still off on Thursday, I informed my mum, who was also unable to reach him. He hasn’t returned home, and our contacts in Kano confirmed he’s not there either.”
“A former colleague mentioned meeting him in Lagos for the exam. The whole family is extremely concerned; he is our pillar, and his absence is unsettling,” she added.
Zeenat mentioned visiting the Customs office in Sokoto and filing a report with the local police in their search efforts.
Confirming the situation, Kano State Customs Public Relations Officer, Nura Abdullahi, stated they were investigating and urged the family to liaise with the police.
Abdullahi said, “The daughter contacted me, and we are actively looking into the matter. He was spotted at the Lagos exam center, but his whereabouts post-exam are unknown. We’ve advised the family to involve the police officially. Every effort is being made to locate him.”