… Narrate how house was burgled in Nigeria, belongings burnt
By Obinna Ikechukwu
The dust raised by the family members of Noah Onaolapo is yet to settle over attempts to have their two daughters undergo female genital mutilation. Though Noah, his wife, Omolara and three children, Heavely-Gold Tiwatope, Diamond Tiwatayo and King Olanrewaju fled their Nigeria home over a year ago, investigation revealed that their tormentors have continued to trail and threaten them as well as vandalise the property they left behind.
Recall that on December 5, 2022, Daily Sun reported how Noah and his wife and three children vacated their home and went into hiding from their own family members who vowed to forcefully get Heavely-Gold Tiwatope, Diamond Tiwatayo circumcised. It was a battle that lasted for months and ran into years which eventually left the Onaolapos with no other better option than to flee Nigeria, particularly for the female children safety and psychological balance.
While Noah was about to heave a sigh of relief and start jubilating that they were now far away in another country and far enough to dissuade their traducers and assailants from torturing them further, but he was soon proven wrong. Noah recently told this reporter on a telephone interview that when they got to Ireland he believed that his nightmare was over for good but unknowingly that those after his peace have not given up on their quest to conquer their innocent young daughters.
He expressed sadness over a threat email his wife received on October 10, 2023 from his own brother, Sunday Onaolapo. He said he was dazed and still struggling to come to terms with why his own sibling and other family members have refused to leave alone and allow them to quietly settle down in their new country of protection. According to him, his family members kept proving him right over his decision not to return to Nigeria for a very long time. Noah said the decision was important for their safety and sanity.
The email sent by Sunday to Omolara and as shared with Daily Sun read: “Weldone Janet Omolara, so you think you can run away from us your husband family? You think you can run away from the Traditional Akual that we are supposed to do for those girls Heavenly-Gold and Diamond? You think you are smart right, you blocked everybody on Whatsapp and all other social networks and influenced your husband our brother to do so too. You disobeyed your mother in-law, you denigrade our tradition and made Yeye your mother in-law a laughing stock among her friends and famity.
“But we told you when you married our brother that we don’t care if you are Muslim or Christian that if you give birth to a female child we will do Idabe tradition (female genital mutilation) for them and foresee the future husband and this must be done before those girls celebrate their 10th birthday. You know every lady who marries from the Ogulari family in Osun State and Kogi State where Yeye comes from must perform the rituals.
“You deceive my brother and run from the former place you were living and ran to Sango, we we located you and begged you to let us perform thes ritual in peace but you started reporting us to everybody to the extent of reporting to the King in Yagba Kogi. The king told you that it is a family affairs that we should go to the family compound to settle it and perform the ritual, still you took my brother and our children and with the plan of that your evil family and ran away from Nigeria.
“You think we dont know where you are now? We have done our research, we know you are in ireland, we know you have gone to lie against us to the white people. The white people also have their tradition, so they can’t stop our own tradition. This is Africa Nigeria we are different from oyinbo (the foreigners including the people of Ireland).
“But let me tell you no matter where you go to in this world, no matter where you hide, no matter where you carry those girls to, any day you enter Nigeria, you are finished. We will take the girls from you forever, no matter how old they are, they must perform that ritual because no girl from our family married and didn’t do Idabe ritual.
“And we will make sure that we dissolve the marriage between you and our brother, Noah. Even that place you are that you think you are hiding, we can still catch you with the help Obmipobi messenger (traditional and spiritual powers).
“This is the last time I will be sending you message. This is my evidence that we tried to persuade you and your stupid husband to do everything in peace but you chose otherwise. You are doing lke you are the first to be educated and exposed. We told our brother that you are a bad luck when he brought you home 10 years ago as a wife and you still remain bad luck and we don’t see you as our wife anymore, you have become a stranger for disobeying our tradition and fleeing with our brother and our children and disgracing our mother and the tradition.”
Noah disclosed to this reporter that his wife was being castigated for standing on the path of truth and justice for their female daughters, adding that his wife does not deserve all the aspersions cast on her by his brother, Sunday.
Perturbed by the development, Omolara’s sister, Mrs. Bukola Idowu, who was formerly residing at the Akomoje Family Compound in Abeokuta North Local Government Area, Ogun State, went to Sagamu Police Area Command on October 26, 2023 to report Mr. Sunday over his threat message to Omolara and her husband and daughters.
Idowu explained to Daily Sun in Lagos that she was living in perpetual fear having reported Sunday’s alleged atrocities to the police. She disclosed that she had to relocate from her former home for the fear of being attacked by Sunday and others who after the Onaolapos.
Confirming the incident, the Assistant superintendent of Police (ASP), Bode Olorundare said investigations were ongoing into the allegations and said that necessary arrests and interrogations would be carried out and justice would prevail in the end.
The Police boss said: “Mrs Bukola Idowu, residing at 33 Ogere Road, Ogere, Ogun State, Nigeria, from the Akomoye Family Compound, a family within Abeokuta North Local Government Area, Ogun State, visited the station at 13:30 hrs on the 26th of October 2023. She reported a threat to the lives of Omolara Janet Onaolapo and her two daughters, Heavenly-Gold Onaolapo and Diamond Onaolapo.
“The complaint pertains to circumcision custom/tradition within the Onaolapo family, where, upon reaching the age of 10 years, female children are betrothed to adult men for a cultural practice that involves deflowering them. Mr. Noah Jamoh Onaolapo and Mrs. Omolara Janet Onaolapo strongly oppose their family practice, placing their lives in grave danger.
“Additionally, on 21st October 2023, a threatening email was sent to Omolara Janet Onaolapo from the address of Noah’s brother, Sunday Onaolapo, located at 18 Odogunyan St, Alade Road, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Following the formal complaint by Mrs Bukola Idowu, immediate investagataons have been initiated. The complainants have been advised to exercise caution and uphold the law while the anvestagation into the threats on their lives is currently underway.”
Idowu further charged the Police Command and other constituted authorities to expedite actions in resolving the issues raised and cautioning the accused, and pointed out that she was no longer sleeping with her two eyes closed.
“I am the first born of my family and I trained Omolara and other siblings when we lost our mother in December 2000 when Omolara was only 13 years. I have been playing the role of their mother afterwards. I am more worried over my own life because Sunday knew I am the one who went to report his threat email at the police station since my sister and her husband are no longer in Nigeria,” she expressed panic.
While still grappling with the threat to life message, Noah and his wife got another shock of their lives when their attention was drawn to how Sunday had broken into their home in February 2024 to take possession of their valuable items and burn down the rest of them.
Noah said that his brother sent the video to his email and with audacity told him that “I have gone to your house and I have packed everything you have in the house, all the important things there now belong to me and all the useless ones have been burnt completely. All your clothes including your wife and children have been burnt and all the documents inside the house have been burnt. “Go to the police to report again, tell your wife’s family to come and arrest me again. Let us continue to show power to ourselves. And lastly, if you like to stay where you are till the next 10 years, anytime you enter Nigeria with those children, anywhere you are the oracle will tell and we will hunt you and the children down. You cannot escape us.
“The girls must not marry until they perform the rituals, the girls must not know any man until they are circumcised. You know this and if you go against it, then you must face the consequences. You bastard.”
Again, Mrs. Idowu went from her undisclosed new address to the police station in Ogun State to report the new crime allegation asking for an urgent and drastic action to be taken against the perpetrators.
The police confirmed that Idowu went station on March 2, 2024 to report one Mr Sunday Onaolapo who is a brother to Noah Onaolapo.
According to the Police, Mrs Idowu reported that after the initial email threat by Sunday to Onikara on October 10, 2023. On February 23 2024, Sunday went into their house at No 5 Asikolaye Street Sango Gasline Ogun State Nigeria forcefully entered the apartment because there was no one living in the house and made away with their property such as clothes, shoes belonging to Omolara, Noah and their three little children.
She further reported that Sunday also took some other important documents such as their children birth certificates, some school certificates and burnt them and made a video and pictures and send it to them (Noah and Omolara) through an email. The latest development was to further were further reaffirm his (Sunday) earlier threat that they must not set their foot in the country and that if they do he will unleash terror on them and his reason is that they took their daughters (Heavely-Gold and Diamond) away to Ireland for not allowing them to perform Female Genital and for disgracing his mother (Mrs Ajayi a.k.a Iya Ewe) in the community.
Mrs Idowu also reported that she needed to relocate from her previous address to another hidden location because she’s afraid that her life was no longer safe since Sunday knew she reported Email threat to the police.
Reacting to the allegations while the reporter put a telephone call across to the Police Public Relations Officer of Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola described the issue as an internal family wrangling that needed to be resolved amicably among the parties involved. Though the accused has been questioned after evading invitation to the station for a statement for sometime, our men has carried out preliminary investigations and were able to link their findings to the same issue already reported over a year ago.
“As law enforcement agency, we look into all cases that have to do with protection of life and property. And from the information before my office on this particular matter involving the Onaolapos and others is centres around age-long tradition and belief system that they have been having arguments over for some years. We will continue to advise them not to take the laws into their own hands.
“It is our duty to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order irrespective of any traditional, religious or social engagements and practices”, the Police spokesman said.
Condemning his brother’s act in strong terms, Noah, who sounded perplexed during an interview with our reporter thanked the government and the people of Ireland for accommodating him, his wife and innocent children.
His words: “I have found a new home in Ireland and we are ready to serve the country with our strength and other youthful resources God has endowed us with. I have expected my mother and other relatives to realise that I have moved on and Nigeria has lost me and my household to the benefit of Ireland.”
He, however, described the inability of the Nigerian Police force and other security agencies to stop his mother and other kindred from tormenting him and his wife as well as their children as a breach of their fundamental human rights of freedom, cultural and education.
Photos: Noah’s school certificates, children’s birth certificates and some other documents being burnt at Noah’s apartment and evidence of Sunday’s threat Email