Family Seeks Help After Falling Victim To Repeated Invasion & Kidnappings
Posted on April 14, 2024
LAWAL SODIQ
A 37-year old farmer and businessman, Muhmeen Azeez, a native of Atiba Local Government in Oyo State, faces a harrowing ordeal as he navigates the perilous landscape of terrorism and violence.
Born on January 2nd, 1987, Mr. Muhmeen Azeez along with his wife, Gbadamosi Taiwo Riannat, and their two daughters, Fathia and Shekinat, have been thrust into nightmare of uncertainty and fear.
Speaking exclusively to our correspondent, Muhmeen recounted the series of tragic events that had befallen his family, starting with the brutal killing of his father on their farm by unknown gunmen in June 2023.
This tragedy was compounded by the loss of Azeez’s elder brother, a military personnel, in Maiduguri during a military operation the same year.
Following his father’s death, Muhmeen assumed responsibility for the family farm, only to face threats and violence from unidentified assailants warning him to stay away.
Despite reporting the incidents to the Police and community leaders, the attacks persisted, culminating in a vicious assault in October 2023 which left Muhmeen hospitalized and his wife and youngest daughter kidnapped for a ransom of 20 million Naira.
Tragically, despite paying a ransom of 10 million Naira, their daughter, Shekinat, died to the trauma inflicted upon her during captivity. Amidst the heartbreak, his wife pleaded for them to relinquish the family land and relocate to Ibadan in search of safety and peace.
However, in their new residence, the family’s ordeal continued, with a violent intrusion into their home on 28th 28th March, 2024, leaving Muhmeen battered and his wife narrowly escaped sexual assault due to her pregnancy.
As the family grapples with ongoing threats and violence, their plea for safety and peace remains unanswered. Unable to return to Oyo town or find refuge with family in Lagos, their quest for a peaceful existence continues amidst the turmoil that has shattered their lives.
While recounting the ugly and nightmarish encounters, Muhmeen Azeez said, “The world is full of uncertainties and living in a region where terrorist, unknown gunmen, kidnappers and the likes have unleashed their wrath on innocent civilians is a nightmare. For me, the fear of terrorist attack became very real on 10th June, 2023, when I got a call that my father had been seriously brutalised and killed on his farm land by unknown gunmen. I lost my elder brother, who was a military personnel the same year as my brother was killed in Maiduguri, Borno State, during military operations”.
“After the unexpected demise of my father, I took the responsibility of looking after his farm due to the fact that I was his favourite son and I know about the business more than any of my siblings.”
“Surprisingly, the following month I was on the farm on a fateful day and I saw a group of people with machete and other weapons walking towards my direction. One of them walked down to me and said, “today we are not here to harm you we only came to warn you never not to step on this farm again”. It all looked as if I was dreaming because this is a farm I have known to be one of my father’s properties for decades. I couldn’t argue with them because failure to comply at that point may lead to my death. So, I left the farmland and went straight to my mom’s place to narrate my experience on the farm to her. My mother advised me to go and report to Police and the community leader, which I did. I made a report at the Police Station and also informed the community leader. On the farm, there are livestocks that need daily feeding like catfish and broilers, which made it impossible for me not to go there in a single day.”
“After I took the step of making the report, I didn’t receive any threat again until October 2023 when another set of people (unknown) came to the farm. They asked, “how many times have you been warned not to step on this farm? Before I could respond, I have been beaten to stupor. I sustained many injuries but I was luckily rescued by some people who later rushed me down to the hospital.”
“It was at the hospital, where I was receiving treatment, that I was informed that my wife and our youngest daughter had been kidnapped. Few days later, I got a call from an unknown caller to prepare a ransom of 20million Naira or lose my wife. They warned me not to inform the Police and that the money should be in cash, failure to comply will result in losing them. I sold my property to raise 10 million Naira before they could release them after two weeks. But my daughter, Shekinat, died due to the stress she had been through while in captivity.”
“My wife shared her horrible experience with them with me and begged me to let go of the farmland and anything that has to do with the family property so that we move on with our lives. I did just as she said and also brought the idea of relocating to Ibadan so that we can at least have rest of mind since the Police were not also helping the situation.”
“After giving up the farm and everything, we moved to Ibadan to start a new life, On 28th March, 2024, a Sunday night, unknown persons busted into our newly rented apartment. Again, I was beaten and my wife was almost raped in my presence. She was stripped naked but they spared her just because she is pregnant.”
“We have been severely bullied and tortured countless times without any reason. Life has become unbearable for us as we can’t go back to Oyo town, we can’t stay with the family in Lagos and we can’t live peacefully in the rented house in Ibadan. We don’t want to die young, we just desire peace of mind.”
Muhmeen is still calling on the Government and security agencies to come to their aid so as to be able to live their lives peacefully.
