Prominent Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has recounted how he escaped arrest during the Department of State Services (DSS) raid on his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, in July 2021.
Speaking on Monday while receiving Muslim delegations at his residence in Ibadan, Igboho claimed that DSS operatives surrounded his home but failed to locate him despite searching the premises.
He alleged that security operatives mistook a cat for him during the operation and killed the animal, believing it was the activist. Igboho also claimed that the operatives brought in what he described as a “fake herbalist” to perform rituals in an attempt to apprehend him.
Recounting the incident, he said the operatives arrived at about 1.30 a.m. and began shooting after hearing his voice.
According to Igboho, the operatives later used explosives to gain entry into the house after planting what he described as dynamite on the burglary-proof entrance.
He said he briefly considered surrendering but decided against it because he believed his life would be in danger.
Igboho further alleged that the operatives fired at close range without seeing him and forced one of his aides to call on him to come out.
He also dismissed long-standing rumours that he escaped by transforming into a cat.
“I didn’t turn into a cat. They even killed it, thinking it was me. They even brought a fake herbalist who was just making an incantation and performing a ritual. I was in the house watching them, but they didn’t see me,” he said.
The activist also claimed that one of his relatives, whom he described as partially blind, was shot after security operatives mistook him for a threat.
Igboho attributed his escape to divine intervention, saying prayers offered by Muslim clerics before the raid had protected him.
The DSS raided Igboho’s residence in the Soka area of Ibadan on 1 July 2021, following months of heightened tension between the activist and the Federal Government under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The activist had attracted national attention after issuing an ultimatum to some Fulani residents in parts of Oyo State, accusing them of involvement in kidnapping and other violent crimes. He subsequently intensified his campaign for the creation of an independent Yoruba Nation.
Following the raid, the DSS said it recovered firearms and ammunition from the residence and arrested 13 of Igboho’s associates. The agency also stated that two of his aides were killed during an exchange of gunfire.
Igboho fled Nigeria after the operation and was later arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while attempting to travel to Germany. He was subsequently released by Beninese authorities after months of legal proceedings and has since remained in self-imposed exile in the Benin Republic, where he continues to advocate for the Yoruba Nation movement.
