A mild drama played out on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday over alleged attempt by a combined team of policemen and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest Sunday Adeyemo, the Yoruba Freedom Fighter popularly called Sunday Igboho.
Igboho was said to be returning to Lagos when his convoy was intercepted by the security agents who were said to be conveyed in security vans belonging to a security outfit known as ‘Operation Burst’.
An online video shows bare chest Igboho walking in the midst of some young people who apparently were on his entourage as well as some vans of Operation Burst.
In a swift reaction yesterday, however, the Department of States Services (DSS) described the said incident as “fake news”, saying there was no attempt to arrest the Yoruba activist.
Igboho’s media aide, Salami Oladapo, told online publication, SaharaReporters, that the attempt to arrest Igboho was made in front of a Satguru Maharaj Ji Village along the busy highway at exactly 2 pm.
Oladapo said: “They laid an ambush for him and blocked his car with two vehicles. They were heavily armed but he said they were too small to arrest him.
“He has described the situation as worrying and sad, especially because he is fighting for Yoruba people and (he is) not a criminal.
“It happened at exactly 2 pm, right in front of Satguru Maharaj Ji Village along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“He was returning from a meeting he had with Yoruba elders in Lagos. He said, ‘Is it a sin to fight for Yoruba people? Is it a sin to fight for his people?’”
He said Igboho was back in his house in Ibadan, safe and sound.
A statement posted by former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, on his Twitter account said Igboho was on his way to see Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo when he was accosted by the security operatives.
Fani-Kayode said: I just spoke to my brother Sunday Igboho. He told me there was a violent attempt to arrest him this afternoon by a joint team of soldiers, DSS operatives & policemen numbering about 40 on the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway whilst he was on his way to see Baba Ayo Adebanjo in Lagos.”
Confirming Igboho’s confrontation with the security men, Fani-Kayode said he spoke with Igboho and described the alleged attempted arrest as “reckless and dangerous.”
He said: “I condemn this attempt to ambush& abduct him. It is not only reckless but also very dangerous.
“If the security agencies want to see him, all they need to do is to invite him to their office. I am not aware of any crime that he has committed & I urge restraint on all sides.
“Let me also send a warning to the FG that Sunday Igboho is a hero to millions of Yorubas & either killing him or detaining him unlawfully would be the biggest mistake they could make.
“Building bridges, dialogue& peace is better than violence & war. A word is enough for the wise.”
In a statement issued by its spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, condemned the attempt by security operatives to arrest Igboho.
Odumakin said the machinery of government would not have been rolled after Igboho if he were a bandit.
Odumakin said: “There is no sense in that (the attempted arrest). He (Igboho) is a free citizen of Nigeria. If they need him for any questioning, they should invite him, not to go and waylay him like an armed robber.
“We condemn their attempt. There is no need for it. He has not been invited let alone not honouring the invitation. Chasing him on the road is condemnable.”
The Afenifere spokesman lamented that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari favoured bandits who have been left roaming the country despite their many atrocities.
When asked whether the group was concerned that security agencies were after Igboho and not bandits, the Afenifere spokesman said: “Sunday Igboho is not a bandit. Bandits are special under this administration. That is the difference between a bandit and a non-bandit in Nigeria today.”
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday refuted reports that its men attempted to arrest Sunday Igboho in Oyo State.
The Public Relations Officer, National Headquarters, Abuja, Dr Peter Afunanya, in a statement described the claim as fake news.
A tersely worded statement by Afunanya reads: “The Department of State Services wishes to refute the news that it attempted to arrest one Sunday Igboho today at Ibadan, Oyo State.
“The said news is misinforming and should be taken as fake and, therefore, be disregarded.”
Igboho had in January given Fulani herdsmen in Ibarapa area of Oyo State seven days to vacate the area, blaming the leadership of the Fulani for being the brains behind the rising insecurity in the state.
The Yoruba activist also visited Ogun State after soldiers allegedly escorted herdsmen to graze in some villages in the Yewa North Local Government Area of the state and brutalised some residents in defence of the herders.
The Oyo State Police Command also yesterday dismissed media reports that policemen attempted to arrest Igboho in Ibadan, the state capital.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olugbenga Fadeyi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), told newsmen in a terse statement that the “Oyo State Police did not attempt to arrest him.”
