Sunday Igboho: Nigeria’s Secret Police, DSS Has This Message For Those Cheering Country’s Separatist Leader

The Department of State Services (DSS) has told cheerers of Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho to advise him to submit himself to appropriate authorities, as he is now wanted.

The DSS also confirmed that its operatives carried out a midnight raid on Thursday on Igboho’s residence in the Soka area of Ibadan Oyo State.

Igboho had been leading call for the seccession of South-West Nigeria, holding rallies across the region and garnering massive following. But the apex government classifies his campaign as acts capable of undermining the sovereignty of Nigeria.

The West African nation’s secret police noted that a gun duel that lasted for an hour offered Igboho the chance to escape.

DSS Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunnaya, who disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday night at the national headquarters of the agency, maintained that Igboho is not above the law.

The invasion of Igboho’s house had triggered massive reaction on social media, with a number of critics of the Muhammadu Buhari administration condemning the government. But the DSS is unmoved by criticism.

“Those cheering and eulogizing him may appeal to or advice him to do the needful,” Afunnaya said.

“He should surrender himself to the appropriate authorities. He or anyone can never be above the law.

Furthermore, Afunnaya said the raid on Igboho’s residence was based on intelligence that he had stockpiled arms in the place. The DSS displayed arms and other ‘exhibits’ retrieved from Igboho’s home.

 

“On approach to the residence, the team came under heavy gun attack by nine men, suspected to be Igboho’s guards. Six of them were armed with  AK-47 guns and three others, with pump-action rifles.”

Afunnaya said the raid was carried out in the early hours of Thursday by a joint team of security operatives.

He also confirmed an earlier report that two of Igboho’s armed men were gunned down in the course of the exchange of gunfire, adding that the rest were subdued and arrested.

“Only one operative who was shot by the assailants on his right hand. He has, however, received medical attention and is very stable.

“Afterwards, the team procedurally searched the house and subsequently recovered the following: seven 7 AK-47 assault rifles, three pump action guns, 30 fully charged AK-47 magazines, 5,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, five cutlasses, one jack knife and one pen knife.”

Other items recovered included two pistol holsters, one binocular, a wallet containing five thousand US dollars, local and international driver’s licences in his name, ATM Cards, a German residence permit No. YO2N6K1NY bearing his name; two whistles and 50 cartridges.

Other items were 18 walkie-talkies, three voodoo charm jackets/traditional body armour, two laptops and his international passport and those of many others.

Afunnaya noted that further exploitation and forensic analysis are ongoing.

Aside from the items recovered from the building, about thirteen 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 were Abdulateef Ofegbaye, Amoda Babatunde, Tajudeen Erinoyen, Diakola Ademola, Abideen Shittu, Jamiu Noah, Ayobami Donald, Adelabe Usman, Oluwafelumi Kunle, Raji Kazeem, Taiwo Opeyemi and Bamidele Sunday.