How Armed ‘Fulani Herdsman’ Attacked Me, Stepdaughter And Her 5-Year-Old Baby At Home On Christmas Day, Nigerian-American Prof., Okediji Recounts
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January 7, 2024
The latest incident comes less than two weeks after Okediji narrated how some Nigerian immigration officers at the Seme border allegedly robbed him of $500 and took his hand luggage with all the money that he brought from the US while returning to Nigeria.

A Nigerian-American professor at the University of Texas, Austine, Moyo Okediji, has recounted how he was robbed on Christmas Day in Ile-Ife, southwest Nigeria.

The latest incident comes less than two weeks after Okediji narrated how some Nigerian immigration officers at the Seme border allegedly robbed him of $500 and took his hand luggage with all the money that he brought from the US while returning to Nigeria.



Okediji further alleged that some police officers attached to the FESTAC Mile 2 Station, Lagos State nearly killed him after his encounter with the immigration officers, but for the timely intervention of some young men.



Regarding the Christmas Day attack, Okediji said the robber who identified himself as a ‘Fulani herdsman’ was in his home from midnight to 1:00 am.



Narrating the incident, the art historian, painter and artist said he was at home with his stepdaughter and her five-year-old baby when the bandit attacked.

He said, “I was inside my chalet in Ile Ife. The building is a rotunda with a spacious bedroom doubling as a sitting room, with a kitchen and bathroom.



“In the bedroom was a queen bed, on which my stepdaughter, Obanimi, and her five-month-old baby slept.



“I threw a native mat on the floor. I spread a towel on the mat to cushion my body, and placed a pillow there to comfort my head. Lights out was at about 9:00 pm, I slept immediately like a baby.

“In what felt to me like just a couple of seconds after I laid on the mat, someone fell on top of me. It was Obanimi, yelling, ‘Prof, prof, get up, there’s someone in the kitchen.’

“I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or awake. It felt like a bad Nollywood flick. As Obanimi pointed at the kitchen door, a beam of light coming from that direction filled the room.

“The silhouette of the figure behind the beam of light moved swiftly into the room. It was a male figure.



“I dragged in a long breath. Summoning courage, I challenged the silhouette, yelling, ‘Who are you?’

“’I am Fulani herdsman,’ he responded. ‘Boko Haram. Where is the money?’

“’Which money?’ I asked him.

“’You think I am here to waste my time?’ He answered. ‘You are playing with your life.’



“He dashed towards me. He made a menacing move, pointing the tip of the dagger at me, while at the same time wielding the machete as if he was poised to cut off my head in one sweep.

“’I have killed more than one thousand people,’ he declared. ‘Your life means nothing to me. It’s like killing a fly. Beware. I have given you the last warning. One false move and your head is rolling on the floor.’

“He looked and sounded diabolical. But for some reason I wasn’t able to figure out, I did not panic.



“’I’m an old man,’ I explained to him. ‘If you kill me, you may actually be saving me from the aches and pains of old age. I’m more concerned about your life than mine. You are young and have a long life ahead of you.’

“’Shurrup,’ he snapped, moving towards me threateningly. ‘On the floor, now!’

Okediji said the order wasn’t necessary as he “was already lying on the mat on the floor.”

“He reviewed the order: ‘Lie face down!’ he yelled. That was difficult to obey. It didn’t seem logical to me to turn away from the menacing figure wielding weapons right against my face.

“’There is very tight security in this neighborhood,’ I informed him.

“He began to search the room. He checked the top of the table. He found my iPhone and picked it up. Obafemi, the baby, began to cry.

“’Pick up the baby and keep him quiet!’ He ordered. Obanimi picked up her baby. She hid behind me, using my body as her shield.

“The bandit lifted the mattress and looked underneath it. There were some documents there. He quickly searched the documents. He found no money there. He dumped them on the floor.

“He turned, frustrated, back to me. ‘The money, now! Don’t tempt me! You are joking with your life. I’m sorry for you!’ He said.

“He opened the fridge. Quickly, he searched the content. Just a couple of beer and water bottles. Maybe a few other edibles of no interest to a fellow desperately looking for cash.

“’I told you the money is outside,’ I added.

“’Shurrup! You bloody liar!’ He snapped at me.

Okediji said at that time, there were some remote sounds of gunshots.



“’I told you the security here is very tight,’ I said. ‘For your safety, you better start leaving now.’

“’Shurrup!’ he shouted at me. ‘Not a word from you. I don’t want to hear anything about security again. I’m not afraid to die!’

“’But you are a young man,’ I reminded him. ‘You have a great future waiting for you. Our security guys are closing in.’

“There were more gunshots from the outside. The sounds were getting closer. He looked even more frustrated. By this time, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and I got a fairly good look at him. He was no longer just a silhouette behind his torchlight.

“I could make out his mode of dressing: a T-shirt on long pants. He wore a round necklace of tiny white beads.

“I recognized him: he was one of the two escorts that KE, the driver who brought my goods from Accra, gave me to provide security from Lagos to Ile-Ife.



‘He found my wallet, containing about $300, roughly 1000 Ghana cedis, my credit cards, and identification cards. He took the money, squeezing it. The rest of the contents he threw on the floor, in anger.

“Then he saw my MacBook laptop and grabbed it, tucking it under his armpit.

“’You had better not remove those electronic gadgets,’ I quietly advised him. ‘They will track you with the electronic tracking numbers if you take them. It’s the surest way to trace you.’

“’Shurrup!’ he yelled again. ‘I don’t want your advice! You don’t sound scared. You want to lose your life! I will show you!’

“More gunfire was coming from the outside. Sounds of bullets echoing like droplets of rain were falling on the metal rooftop.



“’It’s time to leave, gentleman,’ I said. ‘You don’t want to get caught. The security people may not show you any mercy after catching you.’



“He pointed something at me. It was a rosary. He sneered, ‘Say your last prayer!’

“But he heard more gunfire and looked nervously at the door. He opened it. Then he turned back.

“’If you try to come after me, I will fire you,’ suggesting that he had a gun. ‘And I have petrol. I will burn down this entire place, together with you inside it.’

“’You should be leaving now,’ I advised him again. ‘They are coming.’



“’What is the password of the phone?’ he asked. I didn’t hesitate. I told him. He tried it and the phone opened.



“The baby began to cry again, this time, really loud.

“’Shut the baby up,’ he yelled.

“He brought out the money he pilfered from my wallet. The currency notes were all squeezed up. He threw them on the floor and tried to straighten the notes.

“’Are you sure this is not fake money?’ he wondered.

“’Fake money?’ I asked, incredulous. ‘How could I be carrying fake money with me?’

“’I don’t know you,’ he said. ‘I don’t trust you.’

“I didn’t expect there would be lots of trust to spare among the company he followed. But in some way, he seemed to trust me not to be violent. As he tried to flatten out the squeezed currency notes, he placed both his machete and knife on the floor, keeping the MacBook laptop tucked under his armpit.



“He asked me, ‘How do you shut down the cellphone?’

“’Just swipe it up from the bottom,’ I falsely instructed him. He tried to do that a couple of times, gave up and shoved the laptop and the money into his pocket.

He picked up the weapons again, and looked threatened at my stepdaughter. The baby yelled.



“’Yanriyan,’ he said to my stepdaughter, ‘you better keep the baby quiet. You hear me?’



“She said nothing, and he repeated the question a couple more times before she responded with ‘Yes.’



“’I will leave your electronic things outside,’ he said, as he stepped out. ‘Tell your people to look around the house to retrieve them. Try to come after me, and you are all dead. There are lots of us surrounding the building.’



“He sensed I didn’t believe him. He just didn’t sound convincing, but I realized he was desperate and nervous, predisposing him to be potentially dangerous. I needed to be extremely careful. A tap of the machete on my head could prove deadly.

“I didn’t want to be a dead or wounded hero. I froze where I lay on the floor, assuring him that I was non-threatening. I planned to remain physically unscathed and keep my stepdaughter and her baby unharmed.

“I was sorry for the baby. At five months, he was already trying to survive an armed robbery attack.

“Nigeria was already happening to him as he slept at night in his bed under the warmth of his mother’s breasts.

“With the padlock the bandit found on the door, he locked us inside, and stepped out into the night. We heaved a sigh of relief. The baby stopped crying. “’Thank goodness, it’s over,’ I told my stepdaughter, smiling at her to make the experience feel light.



“She looked relieved yet anxious. She hugged her son, who was already succumbing to sleep.

“’Call the chairman of the neighborhood watch,’ I instructed her.

“’I already did,’ she responded. ‘Immediately the bandit entered, I called him and whispered ‘Thief, thief,’ into the concealed phone.’



“’I see,’ I said. This explained a lot. ‘That’s why they were shooting. I thought it was just routine security practice. Thank goodness, this has ended so well.’”