Wife of Nigerian billionaire calls out governor, SSS, over husband’s disappearance

Tochukwu, the wife of the missing Anambra-based estate developer and billionaire Benjamin Ezemma, has asked security operatives to find her husband.

Mr Ezemma, popularly known as BigBen, is the managing director of Dubai Estate in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.

He was reportedly abducted on 12 November 2024 in Anambra and has not been seen since then.

‘Conspiracy of silence’

Tochukwu, in a Facebook post on Friday, criticised the Anambra State Government and Nigeria’s security agencies for what she termed a “conspiracy of silence” regarding her husband’s abduction.

She claimed Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State and his cabinet members know the people the missing husband went to meet before his disappearance.

The mother of three claimed the governor and his cabinet members are silent because those the victim went to meet were “high profile and dangerous people.”

“I can no longer be quiet. It’s been over two months of extreme torture for me, my children, and the entire family. I ask again, ‘Where is my husband and the father of my three innocent children? What exactly is the problem with these high-profile people? What in the name of God is this problem that cannot be talked over?’ she said.

“I need to know what happened to the father of my innocent little kids. I need answers as to my husband’s disappearance. Who are these high-profile men he met with that can’t be told to the world or arrested?”

Like Soludo, like SSS

Tochukwu also said the State Security Service (SSS) claimed that they had concluded investigations and also know the people Mr Ezemma went to meet, but no action has been taken so far.

She said the SSS also claimed that a case had been filed in court and that the family should get a lawyer to follow up.

“But we need to know, who is the case against? What is the person(s) charged with?

“I was practically told by the SSS that you don’t just arrest a billionaire and that there are procedures to arrest.

“Please, what is the procedure to arrest someone who is investigated and found linked to the abduction of a person?” Tochukwu added.

The wife said the case of his missing husband should not be ignored, given that he is a great investor in Anambra who has been contributing to the state’s economic growth.

Soludo speaks

Law Mefor, the commissioner for information in Anambra State, told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday that the police, SSS and other security agencies are responsible for security matters, not the governor.

“We don’t have any investigative or prosecutorial powers on the issue. The investigative agencies are there – the police, the SSS and other agencies,” Mr Mefor said.

The commissioner said he was aware that the SSS investigated the disappearance of the victim and then referred this reporter to the SSS.

“We are all waiting for the outcome of the investigation. The state government does not have the legal instruments or capacity to investigate. It is the work of the security agencies,” he explained.

He promised to connect this reporter to the director of the SSS in Anambra State, but as of this report, he has yet to do so.

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Mr Mefor said it would have been understandable if the victim’s wife had asked the governor to pressure security operatives to quicken their investigative efforts.

“But saying that the governor knows (about the victim’s disappearance) and not doing anything is unfortunate.

“I understand the woman’s fate. However, she should also understand the limitations of the state government and the governor. We are also looking forward to security agencies doing their work,” he said.

Police, SSS silent

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, declined to speak on the matter when contacted on Sunday by PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, suggested that he would not speak given that the SSS had investigated the matter.

“I speak for the police, not the SSS,” the police spokesperson explained.

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately get a response from the SSS.

The secret police last year redeployed its spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, without announcing a replacement.