 Originally from Nigeria , Mr. Eko was born on January 31 , 1968 . He grew up always looking after his younger brother , Yemi ( Adetokumboh M 'Cormack ) , with whom he lived in a small village . As revealed in " The 23rd Psalm " , one day , when Eko is playing with the local children , a gang of guerrillas raids the village in search of young recruits . When Yemi refuses to shoot an elderly man , Eko steps in and shoots him himself , sparing Yemi from the same fate . Impressed by his actions , the guerrillas take Eko away with them and draw him away from his religious lifestyle and into the criminal life , where Eko adopted the title " Mr. " He grows up to be a fearless drug lord and a vicious leader of a guerrilla group , while his brother becomes an honoured priest . Years after his abduction , Eko returns to his home village to ask Yemi to help him smuggle heroin , which Eko has hidden in a large number of Virgin Mary statues and intends to fly out of the country . Yemi refuses until Eko threatens his associates will burn the church down if he does not sign documents that allow him and his henchmen to appear as priests . 
