Chief Yomi Aliyu SAN, counsel to the Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho), has described the activist’s arrest in the Republic of Benin by INTERPOL as “shocking,” according to him, “notwithstanding the political nature of his offence and what the DSS earlier said that they refrained from arresting him so as not to overheat the polity of South Western Nigeria.”
Chief Aliyu said it would be “advisable” for the INTERPOL and authorities in Benin Republic to be aware of the “savagery acts” committed in Igboho’s residence on July1, 2021 when the operatives of the Directorate of State Service invaded the house between 1.00am and 3.00am, killing two people in the process and maliciously damaging his property.
The senior lawyer said: “Though the invading DSS officers did not state any reason for their invasion to our client before or during invasion, they later paraded 13 people and ammunitions which our client denied to be his as he is a peaceful campaigner for self-determination and it is on good record that the guns and ammunitions displayed were the same displayed in 2013 in another instance.
“This could be seen on 2013 Facebook, though DSS has dismissed this on their website. But what they cannot deny is that when they were leaving our client’s house, they left with two corpses and people arrested and nothing more except two guns belonging to the police escorts of Mr Adisa Saheed Olalekan.
“One of the people they killed was one Mr Saheed Adisa Olalekan of Oladams Motors, Osogbo, who came to Sunday Igboho’s house to discuss auto business. He came with two police escorts.
“Though the policemen were not among the people paraded to the public, their guns were among those displayed.”
According to him, the Extradition Treaty of 1984 between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and the 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 the 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,” he argued.
He stated further that the fact that Igboho cannot get justice or can even be killed is apparent in how those arrested in his house have been detained for more than 21days now without access to their lawyers.
“Even the wife among them could not change her undies for 21days! Which inhuman treatment can be more than this?”
Aliyu added that another wife of Igboho, Mrs Ropo Adeyemo, a German citizen, has been arrested together with her husband in Cotonou.
“What offence has she committed to warrant this?” he asked.
He called on the government of the Republic of Benin and international community, especially Germany, to rise up and curb the impunity of the Nigerian government by refusing any application for extradition of Igboho.