Anambra operatives rescue missing Enugu boy in Onitsha

Officials of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra, popularly known as OCHA Brigade, have found a missing 17-year-old boy, Sunday Aniwachukwu, around the bridgehead area in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State.

Aniwachukwu, who hails from Ikerefi-Igbanoacha community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, was reported to have fled from home several days ago before he was located near the Onitsha head bridge.

The Onitsha Unit Coordinator of the OCHA Brigade, Ejike Odife, handed the boy over to his family at the brigade’s office in Onitsha on Friday.

According to Odife, the teenager was spotted barefoot and wandering around the River Niger bridge on Tuesday.

He was approached and interrogated by OCHA operatives, who discovered that he had been declared missing from home.

Odife commended the Managing Director of OCHA Brigade, Celestine Anere, for the ongoing training and retraining of personnel in intelligence gathering and capacity building. 

He also urged parents to monitor the daily activities of their children.

He said, “The boy was found wandering around the bridgehead barefooted on Tuesday at about 5pm. He was on his way to Asaba when operatives of the OCHA brigade, who were on patrol, saw his abnormal display and decided to interrogate him.

“During interrogation, it was discovered that he had been missing from his location in Enugu and was wandering around the bridge. The boy was taken into custody for safety because of his abnormal display. His relatives were contacted, and they arrived on Wednesday, and now we are handing the boy over to them.”

In her words of appreciation, the mother of the boy, Monica Aniwachukwu, said her son escaped from where he was receiving mental challenge treatment at St. Michael Spiritual Church, Ikerefi-Igbanoacha community in the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.

According to her, the mental illness started in November 2024 in Ondo State, where they resided.

Aniwachukwu thanked the Brigade for rescuing her child.