Police raided my house three times – Adeniyi Adeyemi’s father

Adetunji Adeniyi, father of Adeyemi, the self-styled director-general of the “phantom” Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), says police operatives raided his home thrice in two days, destroyed parts of his property, confiscated phones, and arrested him while searching for his son.

On Monday, security personnel stormed the family’s residence in Ogbomoso and arrested Adeyemi’s father, alongside a family friend who was visiting the home.

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, was among the first to relay the development to the public.

“Police have now stormed the house of the parents of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, Plot 3, Adeniyi Dynasty, behind Technical College, Road Safety Area, Ogbomoso,” Falana had said.

“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?”

Residents of the neighbourhood also confirmed the incident.

‘THEY JUMPED THE FENCE’

Speaking with BBC Yoruba on Wednesday, Adeyemi’s father said armed operatives first gained access to his compound by scaling the fence and damaging a section of the barbed wire around the property, before identifying themselves as government security personnel.

According to him, the operatives searched every part of his house after he opened the door.

“They jumped the fence into my compound and destroyed the security wire at the entrance before entering. They banged my door and identified themselves as government security officials. When I opened the door, they rushed in and searched the entire house, including all the cupboards,” he said.

He added that the operatives returned at about 2:30pm, after the initial search at about 1pm, and confiscated the family’s mobile phones before leaving.

He said they returned around 11:30pm the following day.

The senior Adeyemi said the operatives did not explain why his son was being sought, adding that he was unaware of Adeyemi’s perceived wrongdoing.

“I don’t know what my son did. They only said the government was looking for him. I told them he said he worked for the government in Abuja, but I have never visited his workplace,” he said.

The father said he could not link the allegations against him with his child’s character.

“My son avoids trouble. Since childhood, he has never been someone who fights or causes problems. Everything they said he did is difficult for me to believe,” Adetunji said.

The father said security operatives questioned him about his son’s whereabouts and took him into custody when he could not provide information about his son’s address in Abuja.

“They asked why I did not know where my son lives. I told them he lives in Abuja. After asking several questions, they told me to follow them to the police station, and that was how I was arrested,” the dad said.

He added that the incident has left him traumatised.

“Even if one is brave, one would be afraid of what this is. Is it trouble that they want me to pass through until my death?” he asked.

“My body is not okay; every rumour that I have been receiving about my son does not make me happy because everything you said that my child did… my son is not a troublesome individual,” he added.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the younger Adeyemi and the agency he purportedly led.(TheCable