The UK Metropolitan Police have launched a search for a Nigerian student who has been missing for more than a week.
Richard Okorogheye, 19, a student at Oxford Brookes University, was last seen boarding a bus after leaving home in Ladbroke Grove area of west London in the evening of March 22.
The police said they were carrying out a search and that Okorogheye’s disappearance was initially graded low-risk because of the many missing people reports it receives every day, often involving young people.
A spokesman for the police said: “Family members should always be treated with respect and dignity by officers, and have confidence that officers will make every effort to investigate the circumstances of the disappearance with a matter of urgency.
“The investigation into the disappearance of Richard Okorogheye remains ongoing. His family are being supported by a dedicated family liaison officer while all available resources are being utilised in the search.”
Okorogheye’s mother Evidence Joel said her son, who had been shielding during the pandemic due to having sickle cell disease, had struggled with his online studies.
She further said her son left home at about 8.30 pm saying he was going to meet a friend but left his wallet, jacket, and medication behind.
“All he said to me was ‘mummy, I’m going to see my friend’. I trusted him, I had no doubt or no reason to ask him further questions,” she said.
