Sunday Igboho
Sunday Igboho laments about DSS attack. In an email conversation with BOLA BAMIGBOLA, Yoruba Nation agitator Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, discusses the July 1, 2021 midnight raid of his Ibadan residence by operatives of the Department of State Services and the future of the Yoruba Nation battle.
Did you expect President Muhammadu Buhari to send security forces after you when you began the Yoruba Nation struggle?
I did not expect former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to send security agents after me because our quest for Yoruba nationhood was constitutional, nonviolent, and legal. We were very civil in our efforts, so we never anticipated a responsible government to consider our agitation as a threat to the country’s peace. Yoruba, as an ethnic group among the country’s ethnic nations, is an essential aspect of Nigeria. So for the previous Buhari administration to come after my life and attack my Ibadan residence with security agents, killing my aide and injuring numerous others was the height of illegality and executive recklessness. The entire structure was riddled with gunshots from the united team.
Given your power, how come you didn’t receive intelligence information before the July 1, 2021 raid?
I don’t have any clout. I’m a businessman; how do I gain influence when I’m neither a politician or a public official with tentacles in the corridors of power? So I couldn’t have obtained any information prior to the horrific attack on my home and people on July 1, 2021. Because I am not a prophet or a herbalist, I am unsure what you mean by spiritual force.
What happened that night, exactly?
I believe I have stated this in past media interviews. There is no need to restate what the publications have already stated. There was a time when some journalists came to my residence in Cotonou, the capital of the Benin Republic, looking for me, and I recollect that The PUNCH writer was there, and I told him what happened.
Was it true that the DSS took three herbalists with them on that raid?
I wouldn’t know because the DSS attacked my house at midnight, generating terror and uproar across the Soka area of Ibadan and unleashed a barrage of gunfire for several hours. How can you expect me to check if they arrived with herbalists or pastors in that atmosphere of chaos and violence? There couldn’t possibly be time for it.
One of your men claimed that the DSS killed some cats and even arrested one, mistaking you for a cat. Did that actually happen?
Is it true that some cats died in the attack? Because the DSS just started shooting in all directions. I was raising cats as pets and had a large number of them in my home. As a result, anything or movement drew intermittent bullets. Their purpose was either to kill me or to arrest me and transport me to an unknown location, but the Almighty God is higher than anyone in this world, including the tyrannical ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. My God and providence embarrassed Buhari with their criminal invasion of my home since they all failed to fulfill their goal. I didn’t transform into a cat to get away.
The DSS said you had a gun cache in your home. Did you, too?
That couldn’t be further from the truth. How can I keep guns in my house? All of those claims are fabricated by the DSS in order to implicate me in a planned or fabricated criminal trial.
How did you react to your arrest in the Benin Republic?
There was no issue about the incident leading to my arrest in Cotonou. Myself and my wife were at the airport to board a flight outside the Republic of Benin. I had earlier been checked into the departure (lounge) before the turn of my wife when the incident happened. I had to come back to her because I could not leave her behind.
What were some of your most memorable experiences while imprisoned in Benin?
In Cotonou, I was not imprisoned or jailed. I was merely arrested and jailed before my court appearance. Following the involvement of some famous Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Wole Soyinka, Professor Banji Akintoye, and others too numerous to list, I was given bail after about two appearances in court. I was allowed to return to my home in Cotonou following my release on bond. After fulfilling all of the requirements of my bail, I was granted permission to depart Cotonou for any location or nation. In the Republic of Benin, I was never convicted or imprisoned.
What is the state of your vehicle business in Nigeria?
My car business is intact and flourishing. I’m a businessman and I have been selling all types of vehicles for decades not only in Nigeria but also in a few other African countries.
What was your experience in Germany like?
All glory to God. My family is in Germany, and they have been here since before the Yoruba nation’s agitation began. I also live here and in other European nations. So the problem of experience does not arise because I have previously visited this location.
When are you going to return to Nigeria?
Quite soon. You’ll know for sure when I return. It will not be a private affair. Nigerians will know when I return.
Some have criticized your attitude and strategy for the Yoruba Nation agitation. They claimed that you are unqualified to lead the agitation and that the struggle should be led by Yoruba elite.
Nobody has complete power in this conflict. Though I am the most visible face of the battle, we have leaders such as Professor Banji Akintoye and others. My detractors are unable to identify or articulate the requirements for leading a struggle like this. We are all working toward the common objective of peacefully and legally realizing the Yoruba country.
Have you abandoned your campaign for Yoruba Nation now that Nigeria has a Yoruba president?
Despite the election of President Bola Tinubu, we have not abandoned our campaign for the Yoruba nation. We began our campaign long before Tinubu was elected president of his political party, the All Progressives Congress. Our protest is not based on the election of a Yoruba guy as the country’s president. Tinubu is a Yoruba man, and his election as President would not deter us from fighting for the Yoruba nation’s recognition. This clarification has been made multiple times in the media by the Ilana Omo Oodua movement. You may not have heard from us or seen much of us recently, but we are still working on the project, and the United Nations (UN) is aware of it.