By: Sheris Joshua
The Imo State Command of the Nigerian Police Force, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, has declared wanted one Aderemi Kayode Adebayo, aged 44, among others over alleged involvement in what they describe as the treasonous and terrorist activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imo State and, by extension, across Nigeria.
According to police investigations, Adebayo, a native of Owo in Ondo State, has been living with his family for over a decade on Eke Aka Street, Akabo, in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.
He is said to be a building contractor and a major business investor in the state.
Police alleged that he is not only a strong sympathizer and supporter of IPOB but also a key financier of its activities in Imo State, sponsoring rebellious acts against the Nigerian government.
IPOB, proscribed and designated as a terrorist organization by the Nigerian authorities, has an unconventional separatist agenda.
Under Nigerian law, anyone found to be a member or supporter risks life imprisonment. The police have therefore urged the public to provide any information on Adebayo’s whereabouts to the nearest police station.
But behind the cold wording of the police bulletin lies a deeply personal and painful account.
In the dead of night on February 28, 2022, heavily armed military troops stormed Adebayo’s home, hunting for him over the same allegations.
He was away on a business trip, but in their disappointment, the soldiers turned their fury on his unsuspecting wife, accusing her of hiding him.
They struck her brutally from behind with the butt of a gun, causing her to collapse on the dining-room stairs.
She was four months pregnant. The blow triggered severe bleeding and stabbing abdominal pains. Rushed to the State Specialist Hospital, doctors could not save the unborn child. The pregnancy had to be terminated.
Now, while the police paint him as a dangerous supporter of a banned group, Adebayo tells a different story, one of a man in hiding, a family shattered, and an unborn life lost in the crossfire of Nigeria’s bitter political struggle.
