In the early hours of February 7, Luqman Oricha Abbas, the 39-year-old president of Ebira Youth Congress (EYC), Ajaokuta Chapter, was sleeping at home when some men came knocking on his door.
The knocking was consistent, loud and heavy, and, at a point, Abbas thought he and his family members were about to become victims of a robbery attack.
After appealing for calm from his family members, who were already jittery, Abbas, with stealth, approached the door and opened it.
It turned out the strange visitors were not robbers; they were heavily armed officers from the Ajaokuta unit of the Department of State Services (DSS). The men came in four Toyota Hilux vehicles.
When Abbas allowed the men into his house, they asked him whether he had a gun. Abbas responded, saying he had a locally made hunting gun he had inherited from his father.
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They instructed him to hand the gun over to them and he did.
What followed were bouts of arguments, resistance, manhandling and, in the end, Abbas was taken away by the men.
At first, family members who witnessed Abbas’ abduction that morning, especially one of his two wives and his children, thought the incident was a product of a harmless disagreement that would be resolved as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, days, weeks and months went by. Their husband and father was never seen again.
AN EYC MEMBER SPEAKS TO FIJ ABOUT ABBAS’ ARREST
On Tuesday, Michael Adeiza (not real name), a member of the EYC, spoke to FIJ about the circumstances that led to Abbas’ arrest by the DSS.
“Prior to Abbas’ arrest, several young men had mysteriously gone missing in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area,” said Adeiza.
“One of the young men, whose name is Nuhu, was arrested in a Gestapo-like manner two years ago, while he was visiting his wife who resided in Abuja. Abdulkarim, another Ajaokuta youth, was also arrested several months back, while he was taking his brother to the hospital for treatment.
“A host of other young men were also arrested in that same manner without anyone knowing the actual crime or offence they had committed.
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“That was exactly what Abbas, in his capacity as an EYC executive member, went to the DSS office in Ajaokuta to inquire about. And interestingly, the missing young men we are talking about, were not even members of the EYC.
“Abbas only paid the visit because the EYC is a foremost association in Ajaokuta and serious incidents that have to do with the disappearance of able-bodied men in our town cannot be happening and everyone would choose to look away. That was why he visited the DSS office.
“Two days after his visit to the DSS office, officials from the same agency again invited him for further discussion on his inquiry.
“On February 7, however, the same DSS officials then visited his home at midnight in a questionable manner, and forcefully took him away. He identified one of the officers, who came to take him away, as Jonathan Shagi, the divisional head of the DSS office in Ajaokuta.
“Since then, no one has heard from him. The most saddening and fearful part is that no one even knows where they took him to. His family members, his kinsmen and members of the EYC have searched everywhere for him, but no one knows exactly where the DSS took him to.”
Adeiza also told FIJ that the DSS officials “placed the Ajaokuta divisional office under lock and key for two weeks”, after Abbas’ arrest.
“They (the DSS) placed their office in Ajaokuta under lock and key for two weeks after Abbas was arrested,” said Adeiza.
“This action further fuelled suspicion and speculation among us, Abbas’ friends and family members, about the legality of his arrest. Jonathan Shagi, the divisional head, never returned to the office after Abbas was taken away.
“When the office was eventually reopened, Shagi could no longer be found or seen around the office.
“More than five months have passed us by and Abbas remains unfound since the DSS took him away on February 7.”
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ABBAS’ FIRST WIFE SPEAKS TO FIJ
On the same day, FIJ also interviewed Amina Bello Ohunene, the older of Abbas’ two wives.
Ohunene was at home when the incident happened.
“I was already in bed, sleeping, when all of a sudden, I started hearing heavy knocks on the main door to our house,” Ohunene narrated.
“I immediately got up and went straight into the living room to find out what was going on. It was past midnight. As the strangers continued banging on the door heavily, they were also shouting our husband’s name.
“When we all got to the living room, I mean those of us who were at home at the time, we were all very afraid and jittery.
“But our husband appealed for calm and went on to open the door.
“As soon as he did, he immediately recognised the man who appeared to have led the group of men to our house. He is the divisional head of the DSS office in Ajaokuta. The men, who were all kitted in black gears and uniforms, came in four Toyota Hilux vehicles. They were also heavily armed with assault weapons.
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“When they entered, they immediately surrounded the living room. At that moment, the leader of the group checked for a number on his phone. When he was done, he showed our husband the number, demanding to know its owner.
“Our husband then responded saying the number belonged to him. Afterwards, the DSS officials retrieved his phones and instructed him to sit on one of the chairs in the living room.
“After a while, they again instructed him to unlock his phones and hand them over. At that point, they also took a locally made gun he had inherited from his father from him. He had been using the gun to hunt for animals in the forest any time he was not busy.
“Before they left, the leader of the group told me I should not worry myself and that they were only taking him to their office so he could assist them in an ongoing investigation.
“Since they took him away from us that day, we never set our eyes on him again.”
Ohunene told FIJ how family members visited DSS offices in Kogi State and Abuja, trying to get Abbas’ exact location after he was arrested.
“We visited the DSS offices in Kogi and Abuja in our attempt to know where the officials took him to, but they have all continued to say they don’t have him in their custody,” said Ohunene.
“We also hired a lawyer, who at a point, wrote several letters and also went to Abuja to help us search various places for our husband. In the end, he was unable to come up with any useful information.
“I also pleaded with someone at the DSS office in Abuja to help me in whatever way he could. When he got back to me, he said he had checked their database and could not find anything on the operation.
“He also added that he was not sure the operation was ever documented, confirming to me that that was the reason he could not find anything on Abbas’ arrest.
“None of our pleas for his release and safe return has ever been responded to.
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“We also got a court order for his release, but the DSS responded, claiming they did not have him in their custody. We still do not know where he is to date.
“He had been treating ulcer and other recurring health issues like a consistent chest pain before his arrest. As they have continued to incarcerate him without anyone knowing his whereabouts, we are really worried about his general well-being and state of health.”
ABBAS’ YOUNGER WIFE’S COMMENTS
Rahimat Salawu, Abbas’ younger wife, spoke to FIJ on the challenges the EYC leader’s family members have been facing since his February abduction.
“Things have not been easy for us as a family since the day our husband was arrested by the DSS officers,” Salawu told FIJ.
“The vacuum the DSS made him leave behind by the action taken by them has not been filled by anyone.
“All has not been fine; all has not been well. These days, we only get support from our extended family members and kind-hearted friends.
“Things have been quite difficult in some areas, though.
“I am a student and sourcing funds to get the materials needed for my studies has been quite difficult. I know this would have been easier if our husband had not been arrested the day the DSS officials came. Most times, friends and family members, who also have people they are catering for, come to our aid when we are in need.”
Salawu told FIJ that the family had consulted several lawyers for help on the matter.
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“All the efforts we made in getting the DSS to release our husband to us have proved futile,” said Salawu.
“We also sought the help of many lawyers on the matter, but as we speak, our husband remains nowhere to be found. It has been five months since the DSS came to take him away from us.”
SILENCE FROM THE DSS
On Wednesday, FIJ sent an email to the DSS, requesting for a reaction to the allegations made by Abbas’ associates and family members.
The email had, however, received no response at press time.
The post DSS Arrested Kogi Youth President Luqman Abbas 5 Months Ago. They Erased Him appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.