24-Year-Old Corps Member Declared Missing In Bayelsa

The Bayelsa State Police Command has announced that a 24-year-old participant in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), named Anyanwu Levi Chimezie, is missing.

Anyanwu, bearing NYSC registration number BYS/25A/0244, disappeared on October 8, 2025.

The service member, assigned primarily to the Ijaw National Academy in Kaiama, which serves as the headquarters for Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area within the state, was believed to have stayed with his fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation members, Mr. and Mrs. Wisdom George, though they reported that he came to see them and then departed afterward.

The police spokesperson, Musa Mohammed, who shared this information through a statement issued on Sunday, November 2, indicated that officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit within the command have initiated a probe into the matter to uncover the details behind the occurrence.

“On 10/10/25, one, Mr Oke Emmanuel, a corps member, who is said to be the roommate of the subject, was invited by detectives and interrogated. He confirmed that the subject was with the George family until 06/10/25,” the statement read.

“Further disclosures were made by Mr. George that the corps member complained of illness and was taken for treatment at the Kaiama Referral Hospital, on 04/10/25, and was reportedly discharged on 05/10/25. That on 06/10/25, the missing corps member disappeared to an unknown destination.”

Authorities are additionally examining the purported extortion targeting the missing person’s parents, amounting to N100,000, carried out by two prisoners from the Igbara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State, who impersonated abductors.

“The missing youth corps member’s phone was left in his apartment. Detectives followed a GSM call from No 0906193291, which was later traced to an inmate detained at Igbara Correctional Custodian Centre, Abeokuta, in Ogun State, in connection with a kidnapping case.

“The suspect claimed that they saw the telephone number on social media and decided to take advantage of the father of the victim, Mr Anyanwu Simon ‘m’ 56 years old. The sum of N100,000:00 was paid to the account Opay; 7042793493, belonging to one Atinuke Oluwalose, a close collaborator with the detained inmate at Abeokuta Prison.

“From the findings by detectives, a disturbing realisation may have impelled the victim’s actions. There are declarations he made about certain recent social preferences and appetites that impinge on his religious beliefs.

“Measures are still ongoing to consolidate law enforcement activities, to enable a proper conclusion on the findings of the detectives, as the findings are quite revealing. There is no case of kidnapping in this peculiar incident. Efforts are still ongoing to ensure foreclosure is found in the ongoing inquiry.”

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli