Details as to how the Yoruba secessionist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Igboho, was arrested by security operatives are now in the public domain.
In a statement released on Tuesday, July 20, Igboho’s lawyer, Yomi Alliyu (SAN) disclosed that his client was trying to catch a flight to Germany with his German wife when operatives of Interpol tracked and arrested them.
Alliyu said the arrest was done in the Benin Republic, a neighbouring African country to Nigeria.
According to him, the Federal Government of Nigeria through INTERPOL got Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho and his wife, who is a German citizen, arrested on Monday night at an airport in the Benin Republic, one of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries in the West African sub-region. Igboho was arrested while he tried to catch a flight to Germany with his wife.
Alliyu argued that “The Extradition Treaty of 1984 between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Republic of Benin excluded political fugitives. It also states that where the fugitive will not get justice because of discrimination and/or undue delay in prosecution the host country should not release the fugitive.
“Now, Article 20 of African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to which the four countries are signatories made agitation for self-determination a fundamental right to be protected by all countries. This made Chief Sunday Adeyemo a political offender who cannot be deported and/or extradited by the good people of the Republic of Benin for any reason.”
The senior advocate, who described the arrest of his client as shocking, urged the government of Germany, Benin Republic and the international community “to rise up and curb the impunity of the Nigerian Government by refusing any application for extradition of our Client who already has an application before the International Criminal Court duly acknowledged”.
The Nigerian secret police had raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence in the Soka area on July 1, 2021, arrested about 12 of his aides and killed two of them in a gun duel.
