Ahead of the Yoruba Nation Lagos rally scheduled for Saturday, July 3, 2021, the Ibadan residence of Yoruba Nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho was reportedly attacked around 1:00 am on July 1, 2021, by suspected DSS operatives.
Sunday Igboho who was present at the time of the attack managed to escape but others living with him were not so lucky. Reports have it that 2 people were killed during the brutal incident and another 10 persons were kidnapped including one of Igboho’s wives and a close ally knew as ‘Lady K’. Vehicles parked in the compound were also not spared as they were destroyed alongside other valuables.
This is not the first time Sunday Igboho will be attacked. Since January 2021 when the Yoruba activist began fighting for the Yoruba people and agitating for the Yoruba Nation, he has become the target of various attacks. In January 2021, his Soka residence was attacked and burned by faceless hoodlums. Again in February of 2021, suspected men of the Department of State Services (DSS) attacked him on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and tried to arrest him.
Widespread fear has now taken over the Southwestern region of Nigeria, following the recent attack on the Yoruba Activist. Afraid for the safety of his supporters, Ignoho has also gone ahead to cancel the Yoruba Nation Lagos Rally. The Aare Ona Kankafo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, amongst other Yoruba Leaders have also begun to condemn the attack.
Coming after the arrest and extradition of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday, June 23, 2021, Sunday Igboho, the popular agitator for the Yoruba Nation had said it didn’t shake his determination to ensure the southwest geopolitical zone separate of Nigeria and it will not stop the Yoruba Nation mega rally scheduled to hold in Lagos on Saturday, July 3, 2021. But the Yoruba activist began to sing a different song on July 1, 2021, barely 72 hours before the rally.
This is coming after his residence in the Soka area of Ibadan was reportedly attacked by suspected DSS operatives in the early hours of Thursday, July 1, 2021. According to his spokesperson, Olayomi Koiki who broke the news, some men allegedly donned in military uniform stormed the home of Igboho at midnight, killing two and inflicting injuries on about five people. Also, 10 persons including a close ally of Igboho known as ‘Lady K’ were allegedly kidnapped by the attackers. His vehicles including a G-Wagon, Prado Jeep, and some valuable properties including furniture, main entrance door, and windows were also destroyed.
BBC Yoruba correspondents that visited the house reportedly found in the premises, bloodstains, bullets pellets, and the gun used to break down the main entrance door. Bullet holes were also reportedly found in the cars parked on the premises.
Sunday Igboho
Sunday Adeyemo better known by his sobriquet, Sunday Igboho has since January of 2021, been agitating for the Yoruba States in the south west geopolitical zone to separate from Nigeria and stand alone as a Yoruba Nation. He has organized several rallies in different parts of South Western states including Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Ondo State. According to him, the agitations had become necessary due to the growing insecurity in the country and the injustice meted out by the Fulani herders on the Yoruba people.
Igboho first gained fame after he issued a 7-day ultimatum to killer herders in the Ibarapa Area of Oyo State to vacate the area over reports that they had been killing, maiming, and raping indigenes of the place.
Previous Attacks
Since he began agitations for Yoruba Nation, Igboho has been receiving threats from different quarters including the federal government which ordered his arrest in January for fanning the embers of ethnic war. The Yoruba freedom fighter has also been the target of various attacks.
He was first targeted on January 26, 2021, at his residence in the Soka Area of Ibadan by faceless hoodlums. This was just hours after he issued the 7-days ultimatum to Fulani herders to vacate the Ibarapa area of Oyo. They did not only destroy some of his properties amounting to millions of Naira but also set the house on fire. Fortunately, for him, he wasn’t around at the time of the incident. Again on February 26, 2021, DSS operatives tried to arrest him along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Ighoho who was on his way to visit Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of Yoruba Socio-political group, Afenifere was captured resisting arrest shirtless. As we already know, it was a failed arrest and the DSS denied the attempt.
More recently, Igboho has been attacked again at his residence in the Soka Area of Ibadan, Oyo State. Although initial reports stated that Igboho was not around during the attack, the Yoruba activist has now confirmed that he, in fact, was present at the time of the incident.
Speaking with BBC Pidgin, Igboho said he was in his house around 1:30 am when he heard gunshots coming from the front of his house. and voices saying, “We are DSS, soldiers, Sunday Ignoho come out.” He then peeped through the window and saw the military heavily armed outside.
According to him, he was surprised because he did not kill anyone and his activism is for the safety of the people which has so far been violence-free. He further noted that he managed to escape but other people present during the attack were not so lucky. He said that two people were killed, 10 persons were whisked away to Abuja, and several others were injured.
Obviously shaken up by the attack, Sunday Igboho has now cancelled the Yoruba Nation Lagos rally scheduled to hold in 2 days and reportedly gone into hiding for fear of his life.
Reactions
Since news of the attack on Sunday Ignoho residence went viral, widespread panic and fear swept through the southwest states. Yoruba Nation supporters have also taken over the Twitter trend to condemn the attack alongside high-ranking Yoruba leaders.
Reacting to the incident, Professor Banji Akintoye, the leader of the umbrella Yoruba self-determination group, Ilana Omo Odua has shed more light on those who carried out the attack.
Quoting information he claimed to have gotten from an inside source, Akintoye said that the Nigerian Army and international terrorists hired by the Nigerian government carried out the attack. He said they spoke French fluently and carried the dead bodies of people killed, adding that they abducted several others including one of the wives of Sunday Ignoho.
He, however, condemned the attack describing it as unfortunate, wicked, callous, cruel, irresponsible, illegal, and atrocious while calling on all Yoruba people all over the country and the world to begin mass protest at the offices of the United Nations, European Union, as well as that of the British, French, and Us governments.
In the same vein, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams has also condemned the attack. According to him, Igboho is being hunted because of his belief in the struggle for the liberation of the Yoruba race. He then added that any attack on Igboho is an attack on all of those in the struggle with him.
What do you think about the recent brutal attack on Sunday Igbohos residence in Soka Ibadan?
Do you think DSS operatives carried out the attack at the order of the Nigerian government?
Lastly, do you think this attack marks the end of agitations for the Yoruba nation?
