Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has said that the July 1, 2021 midnight invasion of his Ibadan home by operatives of the Department of State Services caught him unaware.
Igboho, who spoke via an electronic interview said that he was not expecting the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari to send security agents after me because our struggle for the actualisation of the Yoruba nation was constitutional, peaceful, and legitimate. “We were very civil with our activities, hence, we never expected a responsible government to see our agitation as harmful to the peace of the country.
“Yoruba as an ethnic group among the ethnic nationalities in the country is an integral part of Nigeria. So for the past government of Buhari to come after my life and invade my residence in Ibadan with the security agents, killing my aide, and injuring several others, was the highest level of illegality and executive recklessness.
“The whole building was riddled with bullets from the joint team of DSS and Nigeria Army personnel. My cars, most of which were brand new were also vandalised all because we were craving for the Yoruba nation.
Igboho said that he doesn’t have any influence to get a prior knowledge, stating that he’s a businessman and “where do I get influence when I am not a politician or a public officeholder who may have influence or tentacles in the corridor of power? So, I couldn’t have gotten any intel before the deadly attack on my home and my people on July 1, 2021. I don’t understand what you mean by spiritual power because I am not a prophet or an herbalist.
He said that he had in said in his previous interviews with the media and there is no need to repeat what has been published by the newspapers.
Igboho said that he wouldn’t know whether the DSS operatives brought three herbalists along for that raid because the DSS stormed his residence at midnight causing fear and commotion in the whole of Soka area of Ibadan, releasing a volley of bullets for several hours.
“In that atmosphere of confusion and violence, how do you expect me to be checking if they came with herbalists or pastors? There couldn’t have been time for that,” he said.
As claimed by one of Igboho’s men who said that the DSS killed some cats and even arrested one, thinking you transformed into a cat, he said it is true that some cats were killed during the attack because the DSS just kept firing bullets in all directions.
“I was rearing cats as pets and I had many of them in my house. So, anything or movement attracted sporadic gunshots. Their mission was to either kill me or arrest me and take me to an unknown destination, but the Almighty God is greater than anybody in this world, including the despotic ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. My God and providence put Buhari to shame with the lawless invasion of my home because they all failed to achieve what they came for. I didn’t turn into a cat to escape.
He decribed as pure fallacy, the claims by the DSS that he stockpiled guns in my house. “That’s very far from the truth. How can I stockpile guns in my house? All those allegations are phantom and cooked up by the DSS just to implicate me for a planned or trumped-up criminal trial.
On the issue of his arrest at Benin Republic, Igboho said that there was no issue about the incident leading to my arrest in Cotonou, stating that himself and wife were at the airport to board a flight outside the Republic of Benin.
He said that he had earlier been checked into the departure (lounge) before the turn of his wife when the incident happened and he had to come back to her because I could not leave her behind.
Igboho said thatI he was not imprisoned or jailed in Cotonou but was only arrested and detained before my arraignment in court., stating that after about two appearances in court, he was granted bail by the court following the intervention of some prominent Nigerians including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Wole Soyinka, Professor Banji Akintoye and others too numerous to mention.
“After my bail, I was allowed to return to my residence in Cotonou. After the fulfilment of all conditions attached to my bail, I was granted permission to leave Cotonou for anywhere or country. I was not convicted or jailed in the Republic of Benin.
Igboho said thaty his car business is intact and flourishing, stating that he’s a businessman and have been selling all types of vehicles for decades not only in Nigeria but also in a few other African countries.
To God be the glory, Igboho said that he has his family in Germany and they have been living in Germany before the agitation for the Yoruba nation began. “I also reside here and in other countries in Europe. So the issue of experience doesn’t come up because I have been here before.
Igboho said that he will be returning to Nigeria very soon, stating that when he return, you will know definitely. It’s not going to be a secret affair. Nigerians will know whenever I am back.