Afenifere, Others Kick as Gunmen Attack Igboho’s House

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO); a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; and the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, yesterday condemned the attack on the residence of Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Gunmen were said to have attacked the residence in the wee hours of yesterday, leading to the death of some people while some were said to have sustained varying degrees of injury.

Some of the occupants of the house were also said to have been abducted.

While Adams claimed that eight people were killed, an aide to Igboho put the death toll at two.

“The situation now is very bad. Two Yoruba sons have been killed in the house of Chief Sunday Igboho. The two bodies have been taken away by the military. We do not know of the location where they were taken to,” Igboho’s spokesman, Mr. Olayomi Koiki, said.

Koiki said the house was attacked around 1 am by those he identified to be soldiers.

“I can confirm that those who came are definitely Nigerian soldiers. There are more than 100 soldiers that came,” he added.

It was alleged that the gunmen destroyed Igboho’s cars and razed the building.

Those who lost their lives were said to be relatives of Igboho.

Some people, including Igboho’s wife, who were allegedly abducted, were said to have been released by the invaders.

There were bloodstains on the floor of the premises as well as some of the rooms, indicating that some persons were hit by bullets.

There were also expended bullets at the front of the house and also on the premises.

Some vehicles destroyed by bullets included a Sienna bus branded with pictures of Prof. Banji Akintoye and Igboho.

Reacting to the attack, Afenifere and IOO accused the federal government of being behind the attack.

Afenifere in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, said the manner of the attack indicated culpability on the part of the government.

It said: “We are forced into this deduction for a number of reasons. Firstly, eyewitness accounts indicated that the vehicles and uniforms of the attackers were that of the security agencies. Secondly, the failure of security agencies to confront the attackers further implicated the government. It was reported that the attack lasted for more than three hours. “Igboho’s residence is in a highly-populated area within minutes’ reach to surrounding police stations. That no rescue team came from any of the police units, including the DSS office in Ibadan for the several hours that the attack lasted, makes it difficult not to believe that the government is complicit in the attack”.

In his reaction, Fani-Kayode said two people were killed and their bodies taken away with a large number of others arrested.

He added that Igboho’s passport and travelling documents were stolen together with his phones, his personal effects, computers and N2 million.

He said: “There were about 100 soldiers and security agents involved and Sunday managed to escape after his boys shielded him from the bullets. They insisted that he should leave whilst they resisted the attack as best as they could and with few numbers.

“My question is this: what has this man done to deserve this? There is nothing he has been asked to do in terms of keeping the peace in the South-west by the federal government and the Yoruba elders that he has not done, including guaranteeing the security and safety of the local Hausa-Fulani population, building bridges, keeping the peace and having dialogue with other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.”

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Kehinde Aderemi, Adams said the attack was a ploy to silence Igboho from expressing his views on the state of the nation.

He, however, charged the federal government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack and to bring the perpetrators to book.

IOO in a statement by Emeritus Prof. Banji Akintoye, and made available to THISDAY by his Communications Manager, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, accused the Nigerian Army, accompanied by those he labelled international terrorists hired by the Nigerian state, of attacking Igboho’s home.

Akintoye also alleged that the assailants were all dressed in military uniform and spoke the French language fluently.

He stated that the gunmen killed seven occupants of the building and whisked away Igboho’s wife and others.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Oyo State Command, Adewale Osifeso, when contacted on the incident said he heard that the house was attacked but was yet to be briefed on the incident.