A South Africa-based Nigerian, Bayo Salami, has narrated how his family detained him at an Islamic cleric’s (Alfa’s) residence under the pretense of prayers after he returned to Nigeria to claim the property he had been sending money for.
In a viral video that surfaced online on Sunday, Salami was seen recounting his ordeal, visibly distressed as he explained how he was allegedly locked up and mistreated.
Salami, who is based in Cape Town, South Africa, revealed that he owns a business called Kuvuki Empire and has worked with top Nigerian musicians. “I am based in South Africa, Cape Town. My real name is Bayo Salami. My company is Kuvuki Empire, and I’m one of the top promoters in South Africa. I have done many wonderful shows, from Davido to Wizkid, Banky W, and M.I.,” he said.
He stated that his return to Nigeria after 23 years was to check on properties he had been financing. However, his family claimed the properties were still under development. Choosing not to argue, he informed them of his plan to return to South Africa, but they insisted on taking him to an Alfa for prayers, promising it would bring him divine blessings.
“I just arrived in Nigeria because of family issues and was asking about my properties and other things. They denied it, saying it’s still under development, and I didn’t complain. I just said I would go back to where I came from,” Salami explained.
Trusting his family, he agreed to visit the cleric, but upon arrival, he was pushed into a room and locked inside. Inside, he found other individuals who had been detained for months under appalling conditions.
“I saw some people there who had been there for like six months to one year. Their living conditions were very terrible,” he recalled.
His revealed that his family occasionally brought him food, sometimes twice a day, but he had to navigate a strict hierarchy among those detained. “The people there had been there for like eight months. In there, there are hierarchies. Sometimes when they brought food for me, they collected it from my hand.
“When my sister brought a mat for me, they collected it, saying I had to give it to the number one of the house. I obliged because I didn’t want anything to touch my body. If they gave me money, the number one must collect it because you can’t say anything to them,” he narrated.
His family justified his detention by claiming he smoked cigarettes. Expressing his disbelief, he said, “I have been to Dubai, where they don’t drink alcohol but smoke cigarettes. Nowhere in the Quran or Bible is smoking cigarettes forbidden. I am not a drunkard.”
Salami revealed that he had spent 23 years living in various countries, including South Africa, Malaysia, Cyprus, and West African nations like Togo and Ghana.
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