Sunday 24 August 2014

My Wife Was Raped In My Presence Almost Everyday – Boko Haram’s Captive Escapee


The Boko Haram insurgency is far be­yond the problem of the North East people as families in other parts of the country are now equally battling the bitter taste of the sect’s rampaging ac­tivities.


One of such is Alhaji Mustapha Oy­eyinka who is now cursing the day he decid­ed to relocate to Nigeria from Europe where his family has been doing fine.

Today, he has not only lost his sight to the insurgents but live with an agonizing memory of seeing his wife raped along with other women almost on a daily basis for three months in one of the camps of the deadly sect in Kaduna State.

Excited about his return to Nigeria, the victim sometime in February 2011 decided to take a trip to Kaduna with his wife, Rachael to attend a wedding ceremony.

Unknown to him, that trip will alter his destiny as they ended up in a Boko Haram camp where they spent three horrifying months.

Enraged and bitter, the frustrated 50-year- old Oyeyinka said he has remained in hiding in Lagos since he regained his freedom and refused to tell his story because he was too terrified.

He said he decided to open up now because he has made up his mind to return to his base in Spain in Europe where he expects a miracle to regain his sight. In an encounter with Saturday Sun, he told his sordid story.

My Journey

As a matter of policy, Oyeyinka, who hails from Abeokuta in Ogun State, ensured that he comes home from Europe regularly in an attempt not to forget his roots.

“Shortly after my university days, I relocated to Europe in 1988, in search of business opportunities. I was into importation and exportation of goods to and from Europe.

I never wanted to forget my root hence I invested in Nigeria. I made it a matter of policy to always return to Nigeria and spend some months.

“As usual, we returned to Nigeria in November 2011 on a long vacation. The plan was to gradually relocate our children down to Nigeria, so that they will not forget their roots.

It was also an opportunity to audit our investments and in February 2012, one of my friends invited us over to Kaduna for his wedding.

“I was so excited and my kids pleaded that they wanted to be a part of that trip. I refused because I wanted to use this as an opportunity to hang out with my wife alone.

It was also an opportunity to return to the North and see how it had developed. In the early 90s, I used to buy goods from Saudi Arabia and sell them in Ilorin and Kano. I had a lot of friends in Kano.”

According to Alhaji Oyeyinka, his friend made arrangement for a mini bus that will convey them to and from Kaduna. The trip was very smooth till they got to Kaduna.

“I do not know the village, but I know that it’s Kaduna because there was a billboard that had the address on it. We ran into a little traffic jam caused by some men who were in military uniform.

They were stopping vehicles and searching them. When it got to our turn, they asked us to get down. The driver asked us to relax, as it was a routine.

“I later discovered that the soldiers were not wearing boots and some were smoking. I waved that observation aside since it was in a bush. I assumed that they were tired of wearing boots for hours.

Suddenly, there were gunshots; people started lying down on the floor while some were shouting Jesus! Jesus! In a split of seconds, they shot all those who they heard shouting Jesus. It was then that it dawned on me that these were no robbers.”

Terrified and quietly praying for divine intervention, Alhaji Oyeyinka laid on the ground alongside others who survived the shooting. Minutes later, a truck emerged from the bush and they were asked to step into the truck.

“We were more than 50 that were packed in the open truck and the rest in another truck. They drove into the bush and at a point stopped and blindfolded everyone.

Everyone was silent, except for the loud voice of our captors who kept speaking Arabic language. I am a Muslim scholar, and understand the language although I cannot speak.

I was more terrified wondering if they were Talibans. After driving about 50 kilometres, they stopped and asked us to get down from the truck. Our blindfolds were removed.

“We found ourselves in a camp built with mini halls which later turned out to be our detention room. There were so many young men. It was then that they told us in Hausa that they are Boko Haram members.

I don’t understand Hausa, so some of us helped to interpret what they were saying. They collected our phones, and asked us to strip down including the women. FULL STORY

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