Posted by Chinenye on Tue 16th Jun, 2026 - tori.ng
More than a decade after traveling to Belgium in search of a better life, Anthony Isabor remains missing, leaving his family trapped in a painful search for answers.
(Map Of Edo State. Photo by Punch News)
Following persistent calls from family members seeking help over the disappearance of their son, a correspondent investigating the matter looked into the case of Anthony Isabor, who reportedly left Nigeria for Belgium in search of better opportunities.
Sunday Joseph Isabor, Anthony's younger brother, said it has now been 11 years and three months since his elder brother went incommunicado.
He explained that Anthony had worked as a teacher at a Nursery and Primary School before travelling abroad.
Sunday said he had petitioned the Belgian embassy in Abuja but received no acknowledgment.
He also reached out multiple times to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), even after alerting them that a suspect linked to his brother's disappearance had returned to Nigeria in May last year for her younger brother's wedding.
He said the family monitored her movements and notified NAPTIP, but no action was taken before she left the country again.
Speaking to an online news platform, Sunday said the family marked what would have been Anthony's birthday on June 9, describing the household as deeply traumatized by the prolonged uncertainty.
He said not knowing whether his brother is alive or dead has been harder to bear than confirmed bad news, and appealed to anyone with information to contact the nearest police station.
He described Anthony as a final-year student at the time who was always looking for ways to improve the family's circumstances.
Though originally from Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, Sunday said the family later settled in Yola, Adamawa State, where their father served in the military.
He said Anthony left Nigeria on March 5, 2015, through an arrangement made by a cousin, Doris Usiagwu, who lives in Belgium, and that Anthony's only contact with the family afterward was a call to their mother shortly after arriving abroad.
Sunday said he first reported the matter to NAPTIP on March 10, 2022, and later petitioned the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, along with successive NAPTIP leadership, but said progress has been minimal.
He insisted that someone, somewhere, must know the truth.
He also detailed attempts to seek help from prominent Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma (retd.).
He said he visited Danjuma's residence four times but was turned away by security personnel each time, despite submitting a written explanation of his visit.
He also recounted meeting the late General Oladipo Diya shortly before his death, noting that Diya was already too ill to assist meaningfully.
Sunday said he was introduced to an aide of Obasanjo during a visit to Ota Farms in Ogun State and was encouraged to write to the former president, but never received a response, and the aide eventually stopped returning his calls.
Sunday credited former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki for genuinely trying to help, saying Obaseki's involvement exposed troubling realities about human trafficking within and across Nigeria's borders, though the assistance came too close to the end of his tenure to yield results.
He went on to appeal directly to President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu to intervene against what he described as a powerful trafficking network, and also called on current Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, Interpol, international organizations, and members of the Nigerian diaspora to help locate his brother.
He further accused Doris Usiagwu of involvement in human trafficking and called for her arrest and extradition for questioning.
Attempts by the online news platform to reach Usiagwu for a response were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages went unanswered.
Further investigation into the case, which began in January 2024, turned up conflicting accounts.
Ambassador Francis Enya, a former Director of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed familiarity with the matter when contacted but declined to give details, saying only that accounts of Anthony's fate varied and that the family should pursue official channels.
Anthony's uncle, Uche Benedict Obadiemu, corroborated that the family had endured years of distress, noting that Anthony had called both his mother and his fiancée shortly after arriving abroad, and that this remains the last contact anyone had with him.
NAPTIP's Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, responding to inquiries, advised that the family restart the process by supplying Anthony's contact details, explaining that the agency would need this information to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The National Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the National Security Adviser, since NAPTIP has no offices outside Nigeria.
Despite the setbacks, the Isabor family says it will not give up the search, with Sunday vowing to keep pushing until the truth is known.