Billionaire businessman and founder of Jezco Oil and Jezco Group, Sir Joseph Ezeokafor, has reportedly been abducted in Awka, Anambra State, after allegedly going alone to a mountain for overnight prayers.

Ezeokafor, who is the father of Nigerian social media personality Jowizaza, was reportedly kidnapped last week at Ifite Awka.

The alleged abduction was disclosed in a Facebook post on Sunday by a lawyer, Chukwudi Iwuchukwu, who claimed that the businessman had gone to the mountain without his security aides and police personnel who usually accompanied him.

According to Iwuchukwu, unidentified gunmen allegedly seized Ezeokafor while he was praying and took him to an undisclosed location.

“Sir Joseph Ezeokafor, a Nigerian billionaire businessman, the founder of Jezco Oil and the Jezco Group, who is also the father of Nigerian Instagram celebrity Jowizaza, was reportedly kidnapped last week from a bush in Awka, in Anambra State,” he wrote.

Iwuchukwu alleged that Ezeokafor had gone alone to “pray and seek the face of God” without his security details and police escorts, despite usually moving with them.

He further claimed that the businessman was abducted during the prayer session and taken to an unknown destination.

The reported incident has thrown Ekwulobia, Ezeokafor’s hometown, into anxiety, with residents reportedly mourning his disappearance.

Iwuchukwu described Ezeokafor as the community’s wealthiest man and said the reported abduction had disrupted preparations for its annual New Yam Festival.

According to him, the community postponed the festival, which he described as an unusual decision, because of the circumstances surrounding the businessman’s reported abduction.

“The community where he comes from, Ekwulobia, has been thrown into confusion and mourning ever since the news of the abduction broke in the community,” he said.

However, the circumstances surrounding Ezeokafor’s reported abduction, his current whereabouts and the identity of those allegedly responsible remain unclear.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from the Anambra State Government, the police or Ezeokafor’s family confirming the incident.