Gawat’s Disappearance, A Mystery – Police

One year after popular television presenter, Alhaji Razaq Gawat, was reportedly abducted, the Lagos State Police Command has described his disappearance as a mystery.

Gawat, an anchorman of an Islamic TV programme during Ramadan, E didè e ji sari, which is broadcast on Nigerian Television Authority, Channel 10, reportedly went missing around Apongbon end of Eko Bridge, Lagos Island on July 10, 2012.

 

The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Umaru Manko, told PUNCH Metro that the command had worked on Gawat’s case for months.

He said, “The case is a mystery. There’s nothing that we didn’t do to find Gawat. For months, we worked on Gawat’s case up till the end of last year; the State Director of the SSS and I were on it. At every Security Council meeting, we discussed Gawat. Even the governor was so concerned that every lead he got on the case, he communicated to us.”

Manko told PUNCH Metro that Gawat’s car was parked neatly on the bridge, giving the impression that he had gone somewhere and was coming back.

The vehicle, a 4RUNNER black Toyota SUV with number plate RE 77 AAA was found on the Eko Bridge by officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Mr. Babatunde Edu, had said Gawat’s vehicle was parked very close to the kerb, while its hazard light was on.

In order to guard against stealing of the vehicle and to ensure that oncoming vehicles and other road users did not run into it, the black jeep was towed to the Olowu Zone of the agency’s office on Lagos Island

At LASTMA Olowu Zonal office, the base officer, while conducting routine checks on all impounded vehicles that same day, was said to have discovered through the side glass, Qurans and complimentary cards bearing Gawat Communications on the passenger seat of the vehicle.

One of Gawat’s relatives, said to be an official of the same agency, identified the vehicle as that of the presenter.

 Gawat’s wife, Fatimat, in the company with three other men were said to have come to the agency office and identified the vehicle as that of Gawat.

Manko ,  however, told PUNCH Metro that the case had not been closed.

He said, “The way the car was parked, you would think Gawat just went somewhere and was coming back. Nothing was missing. Gawat’s entire movement that Tuesday was retraced. We went to every single place he went to on the day he got missing, still we came up with nothing.

“His wife was interrogated for hours, all in the hope that we would get something but no. Despite all that, I cannot say that the case is a closed one. We will continue to work on any new leads that come up.”

Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola said the government has not given up on the search to unravel those behind the act.

The governor, speaking during the 5th Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu Memorial Ramadan Lecture at the LTV8 Blue Roof, Agidingbi, said the government in conjunction with the law enforcement agents were still gathering information that might be useful to uncover the mystery behind Gawat’s disappearance.

He said, “We will continue to refer to our files, our files are not closed, we will continue to review our strategies with the security agents, especially the police.

“We remain positive that until we find proof to the contrary, we are hopeful that he’s alive and investigations therefore continue.”

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