Ibrahim Abdullah, an uncle of a 25-year-old student, Mubarak Yusuf, who was found dead days after he went missing in Ilorin, Kwara State, in September, talks to Abdullateef Fowewe about the circumstances surrounding his nephew’s disappearance and death
When did Mubarak leave his home on the day he went missing?
I am Malam Ibrahim Abdullah. I am an uncle to Mubarak Yusuf. Mubarak left home to meet his colleague on Wednesday, September 13, at about 3 pm. Since it was already 9 pm and he hadn’t returned, we decided to call him and confirm whether he would spend the night elsewhere, because sometimes he spent the night with friends and returned home the next day. However, he assured us that he would come home that night. Based on his response, everyone went to their respective rooms, hoping that when he returned home, he would remember to shut the gate of the house. It was the following morning that we realised he did not return home the previous night. We immediately started calling him through his phone number, but it was switched off.
Did you immediately find it suspicious?
It was unusual for my brother, who always communicated and let us know whether he would return home or not. At that point, everyone became suspicious that something was amiss. We reached out to his colleagues, whom he often stayed with, but they all confirmed that he wasn’t with them. Without any delay, we informed the nearest police station about a case of a missing person. However, the police insisted that we wait for 24 hours before commencing their investigation. Disregarding their request, we immediately left the station and headed to his friend’s residence, the usual place he stayed when he was not at home. Thankfully, when we arrived, we were fortunate enough to find his friend at home.
What did his friend tell you?
Inquiring from him, he informed us that their last conversation took place on Tuesday, September, 12 and that he travelled on Wednesday. He mentioned that he had been attempting to contact Mubarak since his return, as there was an unfinished conversation between them, but his phone number was unreachable. However, he disclosed that he was aware that Mubarak was in the company of a lawyer that Wednesday. We contacted the lawyer, who confirmed that they were together until some minutes past 7 pm when a commissioner in the state contacted him requesting a meeting. Subsequently, he left and went to meet her (the commissioner). We immediately sought assistance from the lawyer to contact the commissioner of education to verify whether Mubarak was still with her. The lawyer reached out to the commissioner and informed us that she said Mubarak left her company on Wednesday night. On the third day, which happened to be Friday, we visited the Surulere police station to ask whether Mubaraq had been found or whether any information regarding him had been received. They (police) responded negatively and directed us to the nearest police station to our residence, which was the initial station where we had reported the case. Upon returning there, we expressed our concern that the missing victim had not been seen, and they said that they did not know his whereabouts. Consequently, they directed us to the police state A division. Upon reaching the police A division, we provided a statement and were subsequently referred to the criminal investigation department. From there, we were guided to the control room where we were lucky enough to find out that the control room had already been informed about Mubarak’s disappearance. Then, we were directed to the state intelligence bureau where they successfully traced his phone number and discovered it was located in the Isele-Asa area. Meanwhile, we had already notified all media outlets in Kwara State about Mubarak’s disappearance, and all of them helped us broadcast his disappearance, and it was circulated on social media.
How did you find his corpse?
One Saturday morning, a friend called me to inform me about an abandoned body discovered in the mortuary when they went to retrieve the corpse of their deceased loved one. Upon hearing the news, my brothers promptly went to the mortuary and found his (Mubarak’s) corpse. The mortuary workers explained that they would not release the corpse until they received a release report from the police, as the corpse was deposited by the A division policemen at midnight three days earlier, which was the same day he went missing. Meanwhile, we reported his disappearance and presented his picture at the same police station on Friday, September 15, but they claimed to have not seen him, promising to do their utmost to find him. We were so convinced, at that moment. However, upon seeing his corpse in the mortuary, we observed that it had not been properly attended to and was in a state of decay, with flies swarming around his face. Additionally, only his private area was covered.
How did you and your family feel when you saw Mubarak’s corpse, knowing that you had been searching for him?
It was with great sadness that we met our brother in such a situation. Even though he was dead, we believed that his body deserved to be treated with respect. Therefore, we immediately alerted others after spotting our brother’s corpse, and we took the necessary actions to prepare and clean the body. Subsequently, we took it to the cemetery and laid him to rest on the same day.
How did you inform his parents when you found his dead body?
I think my brothers were the ones who informed them because I was at the police station to arrange how we would recover his corpse from the mortuary.
Did you get any information about how he died?
The following day, which was Sunday, we received news that the motorcyclist who transported Mubarak was alive. Without hesitation, we went to his residence to inquire about how the incident happened. Upon reaching his house, he informed us that on the night of the incident, he met our brother on the popular Fate Road and that my brother approached him while walking alone, and they agreed on a price for the motorcycle ride. He said on their way, they unexpectedly met a group of young men near the Captain Cook area on Unity Road. Initially, the motorcycle rider mistook them for police officers, until they started harassing them and threatening them at gunpoint.
According to him, my brother was shot in the head while attempting to escape. They killed him, and then when another man arrived on a motorcycle, they shot the man without questioning him, they then searched his pocket, and the deceased’s pockets, took their phones, and fled the scene. The motorcyclist further explained that he stopped someone, and together they went to the nearest police station to report the incident. The policemen went there and moved the bodies to their station before depositing them in the mortuary. During questioning, the motorcyclist claimed to have recognised the killers.
We discovered that the location of the incident was close to the police A division, where their officers were regularly on patrol at night. They regularly conduct patrols every night, but we don’t know whether they were not on patrol on the day Mubarak was killed because we weren’t there. We are completely bewildered and clueless about the situation. When we reported that Mubarak was missing and provided them (the police) with a photo and name at the police station, we were confused when they informed us, after finding the corpse in the mortuary, that they were not aware he was the one we were searching for.
Did you lodge a complaint about that?
Yes, we have filed a complaint, but the only explanation they provided was that the officers we initially spoke to about Mubarak’s disappearance were not the ones on duty at the time of the incident. They claimed to have seen his missing flyers on social media but were unaware that it was his corpse that they deposited in the mortuary. Meanwhile, the police later showed us a picture they took at the scene where the incident occurred, and the person in the picture resembled the person tagged in the circulated flyer. This indicated that the police knew he was the person we were searching for, but they didn’t disclose why they concealed his body when we initially reported at their station.
Did your nephew’s disappearance and death raise any questions about the level of security in the state?
No, the state is renowned for its peacefulness, but I am surprised how an incident like that could occur in such proximity to the police A division in Kwara, though I believe that no matter how peaceful a state is, isolated incidents like that may still occur once in a while.
Considering your brother’s connection with politicians, do you think the attack could have been perpetrated by political thugs?
I cannot confidently say yes or no, but according to the information we obtained from the motorcyclist, the attackers were robbers. Also, the incident did not happen in an election period. However, my brother (Mubarak) once told me that some people envied him, that he was the only one the commissioner showed concern for, and when I asked his colleagues about it, they said they were not aware of any special attention and they didn’t believe the commissioner showed favouritism, and that she gave them equal attention.
What type of person was your brother?
Mubarak was a very laid-back and calm individual. He avoided confrontation and disliked anything that could cause him trouble. Interestingly, he even struggled to kill a rat. My brother strongly dislikes cheating.
Did he have any problems with anyone?
He had no issues with anyone, and I even asked his colleagues whether there was any conflict he might have been involved in, but they all confirmed that they were unaware of such matters and that they knew him to be easygoing.
Did you suspect any of his friends?
No. I have a close relationship with Mubarak, as he shared everything about his life with me, even things that his parents were unaware of. If he had any issues with anyone, he would have confided in me, and I trusted him in that regard.
It was learnt that he was a student at Nasarawa State University. Is that true?
Yes, he was a student at the university, but he was not affiliated with any cult group. As I mentioned earlier, I was very close to him, and I am certain that the only association he belonged to was a political one in Kwara, not in the university.
Have you or your family had any disagreement with anyone who could have had a hand in his death?
Not at all. Our family is peace-loving and not involved in any trouble or violence.
Are the police investigating his death?
No, they haven’t, but the state government has instructed them to thoroughly investigate my brother’s death, which I think is currently ongoing. We really appreciate the Kwara State Government. It showed sympathy and was concerned about the issue. It also ordered the police to commence a thorough investigation of the incident. We want justice and the state government should increase security in the state for the benefit of the masses.
