Counsel for the detained activist, Chief Yomi Aliyyu, made this known on Thursday.

He explained that Igboho is negotiating to be moved to another detention facility over his health status.

According to Aliyyu, reports that Igboho has fled to Germany is not also true.

In a statement titled, ‘Re: Purported release of Sunday Igboho’, the lawyer said, “Kindly discountenance any news about the release of Chief Sunday Adeyemo or that he is on his way to Germany. It is not true, please.

“With the assistance of a worldwide renowned professor and prof Akintoye and lawyers (Falola and myself), we are negotiating for something more comfortable for him than prison to meet his health demand.

“I advise you to remain calm and prayerful

Aliyyu earlier announced that previous negotiations to get Igboho freed didn’t yield the desired result.

Instead, he said Benin Republic renewed Ignoho’s incarceration despite that there was no criminal charge against him and no extradition request from the Nigerian Government.

Igboho, who escaped from a deadly raid on his Ibadan residence by the operatives of the Department of State Service on July 1, 2021, was arrested in Benin Republic on his way to Germany on July 19 together with his wife, Ropo.

His wife was released by Igboho and has been in detention since then and if the extension of his incarceration is allowed to stay, he may spend at least one year in detention in the country.

Counsel to Igboho, Yomi Alliyu (SAN), disclosed that the Benin Republic government has renewed the incarceration without any hearing.

Alliyu had stated that “the government of the Republic of Benin has renewed the incarceration of Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Igboho Oosa for another six months even though there is no criminal charge in their file in Cotonou and without extradition request from Nigeria.”

Igboho has been in detention in Benin Republic since he was arrested at the Cotonou airport by the West Africa’s nation security forces while he was trying to visit Germany in July 2021. The 49-year-old agitator left Nigeria for Benin Republic after the Federal Government declared him wanted and he has since spent over 200 days in detention in Benin Republic prison.

A Beninise court had blocked the extradition move of Igboho to Nigeria while ruling that the activist be remanded in prison pending further hearing.

Igboho, whose house was raided by operatives of the Department of State Services on July 1 was arrested on July 19 in Benin Republic while travelling to Germany together with his wife, Ropo.

The wife was released but Igboho has remained in detention in Benin Republic since then.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, had on November 11 during a press briefing, said the Federal Government would not rule out political solution to resolving separatist agitations in the country.

Speaking on Wednesday, Igboho’s lawyer said his client welcomed the offer and wrote a letter to the AGF about it, yet his client had yet to see anything to suggest that the Federal Government meant what Malami said.

Aliyyu said, “The Federal Government has not done anything to show that it is interested in political settlement of the matter notwithstanding the fact that we have accepted the move openly and vide a letter to the AGF demanding, inter alia, compliance with the judgment of the court.I think they want to test their stand with the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, forgetting that any pronouncement by appellate courts that self-determination is a fundamental right will definitely open a pandora box of agitations that may not be contained by the Federal Government.This is good for agitators in South-West, South-East, Middle-Belt, South-South and all people demanding self- determination.In any case, federation connotes some regions coming together with right of ingress and egress. Positive pronouncements on self-determination will allow ethnic nationalities the right to renegotiate the 1914 amalgamation that majority of Nigerians now believe has outlived its usefulness.”

Asked if there is any hope that Igboho would be released before the end of the year, the lawyer said there was no such hope because of the stance of the DSS on the matter.

Recall that Justice Labiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court had ruled in favour of Igboho in a case of enforcement of human rights filed by Aliyyu.

The court held that agitation for self-determination by Igboho was his right. The court also awarded N20bn damages against the DSS for invading his house.

The adjournment followed the absence of any Yoruba interpreter in court.

The Defendants- Jamiu Oyetunji and Amudat Babatunde- were among the 12 persons that were arrested and detained after a midnight raid the Department of State Services, DSS, conducted at Igboho’s residence on July 1.

They are facing a fresh five-count terrorism charge the DSS preferred against them.

It will be recalled that the security agency had on September 8, through its lawyer, Mr I. Awo informed the court that a gang of mobile armed robbers commonly known as ‘One Chance’ operators, highjacked its case file on a fundamental rights enforcement suit Igboho’s aides filed to challenge their arrest and detention.

The court had on the strength of the fundamental right suit, granted bail to all the 12 detainees.

However, in the fresh charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/305/2021, which was signed by S. M. Bello, the DSS alleged that the 1st Defendant, Oyetunji, was in possession of firearms for terrorism-related activities.

It further alleged that the 2nd Defendant, Amudat, helped to promote acts of terrorism, using her Facebook page.

Some of the counts in the charge, a copy of which was sighted by Vanguard, read: “That you Jamiu Noah Oyetunji, Amudat Habibat Babatunade, adults, with others still at large, on or about the 1st day of July 2021, at the residence of one Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho), located at Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did conspire to commit acts of terrorism, to wits possession of prohibited firearms: contrary to Section 17 of Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 and punishable under the same section of the Act.

“That you Jamiu Noah Oyetunji, Amudat Habibat Babatunade, adults with others still at large, on or about the 1st day of July 2021, at the residence of Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho) located at Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, did have in your possession, without lawful authority, the under listed prohibited firearms:

“Five (5) AK 47 rifles with serial numbers 04956, 213740, 8673, 945999 and 6139 respectively, Two (2) AK 47 rifles whose serial numbers could not be identified; Two (2) pump action rifle with serial numbers 8836 and 9398 respectively; One (1) pump action which serial number could not be identified; and One (1) stun gun.

“Contrary to Section 1(3)(c)(v) of the Terrorism Prevention Act CAP 10, 2011 and punishable under Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) act 2013”.

The duo was in count three of the charge, alleged to have had in their possession, without lawful authority, 1,295 live rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 221 live rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, contrary to Section 1(3)(c)(v) of the Terrorism Prevention Act CAP 10, 2011 and punishable under Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013.

When the matter came up on Monday for the arraignment of the Defendants, their lawyer, Mr Pelumi Olajengbensi, told the court that his clients do not understand the English language.

The effort by the court to secure the service of an interpreter proved abortive, a situation that led Justice Obiora Egwuatu to adjourn the matter till next year.

According to Fayemi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), restructuring remains the best option for Nigerians saying dialogue remains a major pathway to peace and progress.

Speaking as a guest lecturer at the combined ninth and 10th combined Zik Lecture Series at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Fayemi asked the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu and Yoruba Nation led by Sunday Adeyemo to focus on restructuring.

He said, “If separation and secession are not as easy or simple as their proponents imagine, and given that they do not provide any guarantees that a better future can be secured through them, the demands for a national restructuring would seem to me to be worth keeping on the table for deeper consideration,”.

The payment is for damages done to his Soka home in Ibadan during the July 1 invasion by the DSS.

Justice Ladiran Akintola gave the order Friday, September 17, in a suit filed by Igboho, who is currently in detention in Benin Republic.

Igboho had demanded N500billion for the damages done to his home.

The court declared the raid illegal and criticized the DSS for “arbitrary aggression and prejudices”.

The judge also dismissed an application challenging its jurisdiction for hearing the suit.

Igboho was arrested in Benin Republic while trying to escape to Germany following the invasion of his residence by the DSS on July 1, 2021.

Igboho was declared wanted by the DSS on July 1 after a raid was carried out at his Ibadan home. He was however arrested in Benin Republic on July 19 while attempting to travel to Germany with his wife. He has been arraigned before the courts in Cotonou.

Igboho’s lawyer, David Ibrahim Salami, while speaking to the Nation on what transpired in the court on Monday, July 27, said “While defending himself on the criminal allegations put on his head by Nigeria, Igboho told the judges that he had never been tried for any crime in his life.

When the judge asked him how and when he entered the Benin Republic, who housed him and who took him to the airport, Igboho told the court that his coming to the Benin Republic was to flee from his traducers who wanted to kill him in Nigeria. He stressed that he spent less than one day in Cotonou before attempting to travel to Germany

The lawyer spoke further

“What amazed me is the fact that the judge was explicit that Igboho’s continued detention is not as a result of his issues with Nigeria, that he is being sent to prison because of infractions committed here in the Benin Republic.”

Salami said Igboho was sent to prison after the court hearing to allow investigation into how he came into Cotonou and why. He said no date had been fixed for the continuation of the trial because the authorities would need time to investigate how Igboho entered the country.

He said Benin Republic law allows Igboho to be admitted to bail pending the outcome of the investigation. On why the trial is behind the curtain, Salami said it is when investigations are concluded that the judgment can be read in the open court.

He said the primary task now is to establish whether the embattled activist entered Cotonou through legal or illegal routes, and what his mission was meant to achieve.

The legal counsel to the embattled Yoruba activist said the Nigerian government is yet to file any complaint against Igboho before the Benin republic court.

“We have also not seen any written complaints from Nigeria being placed before the court. It is a case between the Benin Republic and Sunday Igboho – nothing more” he explained.

Those who signed the petition are the Leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye; Yoruba Activist, Sunday Adeyemo fondly called Sunday Igboho; and other 49 Yoruba Self-Determination Groups.

The petition was filed against the Presiden  Buhari ; the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN; former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai; and former Inspectors General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and Muhammed Adamu.

In the petition, the Yoruba Nation agitators accused the Nigerian leaders and security chiefs of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Yoruba people of Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Okun Land in Kogi, and Kwara states respectively.

A letter to the petitioners’ lawyer by the ICC’s Head of Information and Evidence Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor, Mr Mark P. Dilon, read, “This communication has been duly entered in the Communications Register of the Office. We will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. As soon as a decision is reached to formally commence investigation into this petition, we will inform you, in writing, and provide you, with reasons for this decision.”

The 27-page petition accused Buhari, Malami, Buratai, and others of Genocide offences such as killing members of the petitioner’s group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part.

Akintoye, in a statement by his Communications Manager, Mr Maxwell Adeleye, added, “We Yoruba people must now move forward to accomplish our Yoruba nation’s self-determination by holding a referendum. A referendum is exactly like a regular election in which people line up at voting stations to vote for a candidate. I want the Yoruba Republic separate from Nigeria. Each voter will be able to vote yes or no. That is the Yoruba nation referendum. But we Yorubas need to take some steps before we can get our referendum. The first step is to make a strong statement loud and clear that we Yorubas want a referendum. The best peaceful way to make that statement is to circulate a petition among us that we want a referendum.”

 The spokesperson for the service, Peter Afunnaya, while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, July 1, confirmed that the agency carried out the raid on Igboho’s Ibadan residence in the early hours of Thursday, July 1. He said the service got intelligence that Ighoho had stockpiled arms in his house. 

According to Afunnaya, DSS operatives came under heavy attack by nine men suspected to be his guards with six of them armed with AK- 47 and pump-action rifles. Afunnaya said during the exchange of gunfire, two of Igboho’s men were gunned down while the rest were subdued and arrested. 

He said “In the early hours (about 0134 hours) of today, 1st July 2021, a joint team of security operatives raided the residence of Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo a.k.a. SUNDAY IGBOHO at Soka, Ibadan, Oyo State. This was based on intelligence that he had stockpiled arms in the place. On approach to the residence, the team came under heavy gun attack by nine (9) men, suspected to be IGBOHO’s guards. Six (6) of them were armed with an AK-47 gun and Three (3) others, with Pump-Action riffles.

In the course of the exchange, two (2) of IGBOHO’s armed men were gunned down while the rest were subdued and arrested. Only one operative who was shot by the assailants on his right hand sustained injury. He has however received medical attention and is very stable.

Afterwards, the team procedurally searched the house and subsequently recovered the following among others:

i. Seven (7) AK-47 assault rifles;
ii. Three (3) Pump Action guns;
iii. Thirty (30) fully charged AK-47 magazines;
iv. Five Thousand (5,000) rounds of 7.62mm ammunition;
v. Five (5) Cutlasses, One (1) Jackknife, One (1) Pen Knife
vi. Two (2) Pistol holsters;
vii. One (1) binoculars
viii. A wallet containing Five (5) US Dollars in one (1) Dollar denomination; local and international driver’s licences in his name, ATM Cards, a German residence permit No. YO2N6K1NY bearing his name;
ix. Two (2) whistles;
x. Fifty (5) Cartridges;
xi. Eighteen (18) Walkie-Talkies;
xii. Three Voodoo charm jackets/traditional body armour;
xiii. Two (2) Laptops (One (1) Toshiba and One (1) Compaq); and
xiv. His International Passport and those of many others (as displayed here). Further exploitation and forensic analysis are ongoing.

Aside from the items recovered from the building, about thirteen (13) suspects including twelve (12) males and one (1) female were arrested and brought to Abuja. While one suspect is being profiled, the other twelve (12) paraded here are:

i. Abdulateef OFEYAGBE
ii. Amoda BABATUNDE aka Lady K (female)
iii. Tajudeen ERINOYEN
iv. Diakola ADEMOLA
v. Abideen SHITTU
vi. Jamiu NOAH
vii. Ayobami DONALD
viii. Adelabe USMAN
ix. Oluwafelumi KUNLE
x. Raji KAZEEM
xi. Taiwo OPEYEMI and
xii. Bamidele SUNDAY.

Highlights of this brief are to inform Nigerians and the world that Sunday Igboho and his group, in the guise of a campaign for self-determination, have become well-armed and determined to undermine public order.  The arrest and seizures are no doubt confirmation of a grand plan by Igboho and cohorts to wage a violent insurrection against the Nigerian state.  Alert foreign missions and licensing authorities within and outside Nigeria about this development and the possibility that Igboho could declare some of his personal permit and identity cards missing in order to seek their replacement.   Apprise stakeholders that the Five (5) AK-47 assault rifles recovered from the building are suspected to be those collected by IGBOHO’s men from Nigerian Customs and Immigration personnel at Idi Iroko, Ogun State The gun duel which lasted for an hour offered IGBOHO the chance to escape. Sunday ADEYEMO a.k.a Sunday IGBOHO is now on the run. IGBOHO may run as far as he can. He may hide as long as he wants. He might have attacked security operatives as his strength carried him. But this will be the end of his shenanigans. Soon, he will not have a hiding place. His strength will sure fail him. And the law will catch up with him. The law may be slow. But it will be steady. Consequently, ADEYEMO/IGBOHO is advised to turn himself in to the nearest security agency. Those cheering and eulogising him may appeal to or advise him to do the needful. He should surrender himself to the appropriate authorities. He or anyone can never be above the law. Meanwhile, those arrested will be charged accordingly”