Imoleayo Michael Adeyeun Still held Captive
On 13th of November, 2020 at about 2:30 am, Titilayo Adeyeun, her husband, Imoleayo and other members of the family were in their sleep when armed and uniformed security operatives, in commodore-style, stormed their residence at Bassa Community, behind Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja, in what was apparently a joint operation of security agencies, and whisked her husband, Imoleayo Michael Adeyeun away to an unknown destination and have since kept him incommunicado till this moment. Titilayo’s narration of what happened on that fateful day and ungodly hour is as follows:
1. They were all sleeping when they heard heavy footsteps behind their window as they woke up wondering whether they were being attacked by armed robbers.
2. Imoleayo immediately took a whistle and blew it with the aim of attracting the attention of neighbors, but then the men outside tore open our window net, stuck a gun in and warned them not to make any noise as they were outnumbered. These men then asked Imoleayo to open the door for them to come inside their house or they would be forced to start shooting. They asked why they were being harassed at this ungodly hour of the night and these men informed them that they only came around to ask a few questions and promised that no harm would come to them.
3. The response by these men, of the assurance that no harm would come to them, prompted them to open the door for the men. Immediately the door was opened for the men, they were instantly surrounded by these men who were numbered about twenty (20) and they were armed to the teeth. Also accompanying these armed men were two (2) unarmed and ununiformed men, who spoke with Titilayo and her husband.
4. When these men gained entrance into their home, they asked Imoleayo for his phone which he gave to them. They refused to respond to Titilayo’s enquiries as to why they were there, in fact at a point, one of the men, used his gun to direct her into a room and locked her up inside. After awhile of staying locked up, she forcefully opened the door to the room and went to the sitting room, she noticed that her husband was already getting dressed to go out with these men. These men also took Imoleayo’s laptop while promising to bring him back soon.
5. Titilayo tried to follow these men as they left with her husband, even after realising that they had parked far away from our client’s residence, but they threatened to shoot her if she did not go back to her residence, she then had no option but to retreat as she was scared for her life also.
6. Imoleayo’s phone number was tracked to somewhere in the Central Business District, Abuja, and it is believed that he is being held by the DSS.
7. Titilayo believes that this operation was carried out by more than one security or law enforcement agency, including the Nigerian army.
8. Titilayo also believes that her husband’s abduction may not be unconnected with his constant tweets in support of the #EndSARS protests.
9. This incident has caused Titilayo and her 7 month old baby a lot of psychological and emotional trauma whose one year old marriage is barely a year old. This whole episode also happened in the presence of the aged mother of Titilayo who also lives with them.
10. It is quite unfortunate and it actually smirks of undemocratic posturing for state actors to arrest a citizen in such a gestapo manner and keep him in hiding for such along period, without as much as informing his next-of-kin of the reasons for his arrest and where he is being held.
11. Titilayo worries that this case may, like some other cases of clandestine abduction and enforced disappearance, be swept under the carpet.
She is therefore calling on the National Human Rights Commission to conduct an inspection of DSS and Police detention facilities to find out where Imoleayo is being held.
Author: Emmanuel Bagudu
Abuja based award-winning multimedia journalist
