I’ve not seen my daughter since DSS took her away – Farmer

Sixty-three-year-old female farmer, Yemisi Akintunde, tells DANIEL AYANTOYE about the arrest of her daughter and her fiancé, Nurudeen Adesiyan, by the Department of State Services in Modakeke, Osun State

 What is your profession?

I am a farmer.

How was your daughter arrested?

They (security personnel) arrived here very early in the morning. We didn’t know they had arrested Kehinde and her fiancé. They tore our net and broke the glass. I woke up with shock. I shouted! I had no issues with anybody, and I knew my children did not have issues with anyone. So, I was surprised to see that happening.

They hit our door several times, and we had to open it. They beat up the two children inside the house. They asked them where their sister, Kehinde, was. I told them she slept at her fiancé’s house at Ajape. Before we opened the door, I had to call my son (the elder brother of Kehinde) and the children with me to come because the security personnel said we were under attack at the house.

While they were questioning us, my other child, Tolulope Akintunde, came in and they apprehended him. They asked him, ‘Are you a Jagaban?’ He said no. So, they put all of us inside one of their vehicles. I have two children bearing Kehinde; so, I think they thought the second Kehinde with me was the one they were looking for; that was why they came here.

Which type of vehicles did the security operatives come with, and how many were they?

They came in four vehicles; Sienna and Hilux were among the vehicles. They were all carrying guns, except the person who was writing. They were more than 12. They collected all our phones, moved us inside one of the vehicles, and drove us to the community school. It was when we got to the school that I realised that Kehinde and her fiancé, Nurudeen, alongside their mother, had also been taken.

But they returned our phones and asked us to go back home from school. I asked them why they freed us without allowing our children to come with us. They told me not to kill myself, and that they had allowed us to go. Even Taiye was saying she would go with them, not until they started cocking their guns and threatening to shoot her.

We had to leave and trek back home. It happened very early when people had not woken up. They also wanted to arrest the man who was on his way to the mosque, but he was allowed to go after he quickly shouted that he was going to the mosque and not part of us. Nobody could come out because everybody was afraid.

What happened after the security personnel left?

Since then, we have not heard anything about our children; we have not seen them. We have gone everywhere, including police stations; we didn’t hear anything about their whereabouts. We have not been able to speak with them since then. We called their number several times, and it would ring, but nobody would respond to the calls.

At least if I speak with them, I will know they are still alive. There was confusion because even the police also told us they didn’t know the people who came to arrest them. I have not experienced this kind of situation before. We don’t know what they did. They should please have mercy on us because both of them don’t have fathers again.

Didn’t the security personnel introduce themselves to you?

They (security personnel) didn’t tell us anything. They just took them away, and we don’t know where to find them. They didn’t even tell us what they did. They just disappeared with our children.

They said both of them were arrested because they had a link with a Moroccan terrorist. Have you seen them carry out any suspicious activities?

I have never seen such. There is none of my children, who I cannot vouch for. Since their father died 20 years ago, I have known them very closely. I know what they can do and what they cannot. This one you are talking about is far from it. They cannot do such a thing.

It was said that they spoke with a Moroccan terrorist. Did you see her responding to strange calls when she was at home with you?

No. I have never seen her in such engage in such an act.

How old is your daughter?

She is around 28 years old and a nurse.

What does your daughter do for a living?

She has completed her apprenticeship in a chemist and was preparing to open her shop in Ibadan.

Are they based in Ibadan or Modakeke?

They are based in Ibadan but also come to Modakeke regularly. Whenever they come, they stay in Ajape. They were going for a wedding at Ode-Omu on November 30, 2024; that was why they came home. But they were picked up on November 29, 2024. They arrested them at her mother-in-law’s place and brought them here to carry all of us.

But reports had it that they were arrested on December 19, 2024.

That is not true. They were arrested on Friday, November 29, 2024. My child does not cause trouble, and he does not fight. I am begging the government to have mercy on me; I only have two female children, and now they have taken one away from me.