Olayiwola Matthew
Tricycle rider and father of three, Alimi Abdulrahman, is living every parent’s worst nightmare. Since February 9, 2025, his five-year-old daughter, Memunah, has been missing — snatched away by a complete stranger whose actions were heartbreakingly captured on CCTV.
In this interview, Abdulrahman shares the haunting details of that dreadful evening and the emotional turmoil he and his family have endured since.
“She’s my heart, my joy — she calls me ‘Baba’ with the sweetest voice. I haven’t slept in peace since the day she vanished,” Alimi says, his voice trembling.
How it happened: the day Memunah disappeared
That Sunday began like any other. The children had gone for their regular Islamic lessons at a nearby madrasa, just a short walk from home. Alimi had gone out to work, trying to make ends meet with his tricycle, while his wife stayed home. The family had been preparing for a cultural day celebration at school, and little Memunah, excited, had her material ready for the tailor in their compound.
As part of a simple errand, Alimi told his daughter and her elder brother, Abdulmalik, 10, to take their outfits to the respective tailors after Islamic school.
But fate had something far more sinister in store.
“Abdulmalik told us that after their prayers, they stopped at a supermarket close to our street. Music was playing. Children were dancing outside, and Memunah — being playful and full of life — wanted to stop and watch. That was the last place he saw her,” Alimi recounts.
A man approached them, a stranger. He told Abdulmalik to let Memunah enjoy the music. Then, unbelievably, he called her by her name — a detail that still chills the father to his bones.
“My son said the man called her name. We don’t know how he knew it. Then he grabbed both children and led them into the supermarket. He pretended to be buying them something, but he didn’t. When Abdulmalik started crying, the man left with Memunah and abandoned my son inside the supermarket,” he says, tears gathering in his eyes.
Abdulmalik, frightened and unable to open the heavy door, didn’t immediately alert anyone. When he got home, he broke into tears, unable to say a word — a 10-year-old boy battling guilt and confusion, trying to process what had just happened.
The desperate search begins
When Alimi returned home from work and learned that Memunah hadn’t come back, his world collapsed.
“I was confused, shaking. My wife was already crying. Abdulmalik was sobbing uncontrollably. That moment, I felt like my soul left my body,” he recalls.
He rushed to the police to report the case. To their credit, the DPO and his team responded quickly and accompanied Alimi back to the supermarket. The next day, they reviewed the CCTV footage. It confirmed every word Abdulmalik had said.
“We saw the man. We watched him walk my children into the store. He didn’t buy them anything. When Abdulmalik began crying, the man picked up Memunah and left him there. It broke me. Seeing that with my own eyes was like watching a piece of me being torn away,” Alimi says, voice cracking.
Unfortunately, the footage didn’t help identify the man. He wasn’t familiar to anyone in the area, and Alimi’s family had only moved to the neighborhood about a year prior.
A father’s fight: prayers, radio appeals, and false hope
Since then, Alimi has spared no effort to bring his daughter home. From police reports to spiritual consultations, radio broadcasts, and public appeals — he has left no stone unturned.
“I went to mosques. I went to churches. I even visited Alfas and traditional priests. My in-laws did the same. All of them said similar things — that she’s alive, that someone bought her, someone who didn’t have a child. That we shouldn’t stop praying,” he says.
He also visited Oriyomi Hamzat, a popular broadcaster known for helping families of abducted children. Oriyomi amplified the story on social media and gave Alimi some money to help him get back to Lagos.
“That man gave me hope when I had none. He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Don’t give up on your daughter.’ Those words have kept me going,” Alimi says.
But the road has been filled with heartbreak. A month after her abduction, a call came from a private number.
“They said they had Memunah. They demanded N500,000. I didn’t have anything. I begged them. I went back to the police and was advised to verify. When they called again, I asked to speak to my daughter. They hung up and never called again,” he recounts.
Was it real? Was it a scam? No one knows. But for a desperate father, it was another emotional wound, another cruel twist in an already unbearable situation.
“She is a star, and everyone loves her”
Asked to describe Memunah, Alimi’s face lights up for the first time.
“She is sunshine in our home. Always smiling. Very smart. Her teachers adored her. She’s light-skinned, wears a low-cut, and has no tribal marks. She’s so full of life. Her voice… it echoes in my heart every day,” he says, his voice now barely above a whisper.
A plea to Nigerians and the world
Alimi has not returned to work since the abduction. The tricycle he took a loan to repair still sits unused. He can’t eat well. His wife has fallen ill from heartbreak. Their home has been cloaked in sadness and uncertainty.
But they haven’t given up.
“I’m begging anyone who reads this. If you’ve seen my daughter. If you recognise her face. Please help us. Help me bring her home. I don’t sleep anymore. Every day I wonder: is she safe? Has she eaten? Is she scared? Does she still remember us?”
“My name is Alimi Abdulrahman. I’m just a poor man with a missing daughter. Please, help me find Memunah.”
If you have any information, please report to the nearest police station or contact Oriyomi Hamzat’s platform where the story was first aired.
