Speaking during an interview with Trust TV, the retired Army General described the cemetery as a powerful reminder of the human cost of Nigeria’s fight against insurgency and other security threats.
According to him, the experience of walking through the cemetery is so emotional and sobering that no visitor leaves without being profoundly affected.
Usman explained that the vast majority of the soldiers buried at the cemetery did not die from natural causes such as malaria, fever, heart disease or other illnesses.
She explained that her father initially worked as a baker and owned a bakery before later becoming a vigilante. She said he was among the first people to help secure their community and was widely regarded as a brave man in the role.
Adisa also revealed that her mother died in 2012 after a brief illness, describing the loss as devastating for the family, particularly her father. She said that following her mother's death, her father single-handedly raised and cared for the children until his own death in 2015.
Recalling the circumstances surrounding her father's death, she said he died on May 3, 2015, while he was in his mid-forties, describing it as one of the darkest moments of her life.
She explained that on the day of the incident, he attended a social gathering before receiving a phone call from a former employee known as Onoda. According to her, her father informed her that he was going to meet the man at a bus stop.
She said he left home on a motorcycle after asking the family to keep his food for him, later informing them that he had to accompany the man somewhere.
She added that as night fell, repeated attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful, which immediately raised concerns because he always checked on the family whenever he was away from home.
She further stated that she became increasingly worried and, together with her siblings, contacted their uncle, who also worked with their father at the time.
According to her, their uncle came to the house and tried to reassure them, but despite waiting throughout the night, they received no information about his whereabouts.
She added that by the following morning, her father was still missing and neighbours had begun gathering at their home as concern over his disappearance grew.
Further talking, she said, "The news had spread that he was nowhere to be found. Then, my uncle and my older sister went to the man’s house to find out what had happened.
On getting to Onoda’s house, they did not meet him there. They saw his two children leaving the house with their belongings. They asked them about their father and why they were leaving.
"They responded in Yoruba that “a ti pa Baba Ruka,” translated as, “We’ve killed Baba Ruka.” The children said their father told them he had collected money, and Baba Ruka had been murdered. So, he left the house and asked his children to leave as well."
When she was asked about the ages of the children, Adisa said they were about 15 or 16 years old at the time.
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