By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Sunday Igboho was arrested on Monday in Cotonou, Benin Republic on his way to Germany and Aso Rock is pressing to extradite him to be locked up along with Nnamdi Kanu in the gulag of the Department of State Security (DSS) in Abuja.
But, in a counter move, fellow rights activists are rallying to secure his release and prevent his expedition.
Yomi Alliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that Igboho cannot be extradited because of the extradition treaty of 1984 between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, and Republic of Benin.
“The Extradition Treaty of 1984 between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Republic of Benin excluded political fugitives,” Alliyu said.
“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.”
The arrest of the man whose real name is Sunday Adeyemo comes after the DSS confirmed the arrest of 13 people in a raid on his residence in Ibadan on July 1.
It also comes more than three weeks after Nigerian security agents broke international law by kidnapping Kanu in Nairobi, Kenya on June 27 and bringing him to Abuja where he has since been detained to continue his court trial for treason.
Federal Attorney General and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, confirmed his arrest at a joint press conference with the DSS on June 29 in Abuja, making the first four minutes of his speech in Hausa – apparently to prove a point.
Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) which seeks separation of the South East from Nigeria to form a country for the Igbos.
Igboho agitates for the same cause in the South West where he wants a separate country carved out for the Yorubas.
Buhari’s double standards
Insecurity, particularly in the North, and the blatant nepotism of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Fulani supremacist pursuits, all combine to fuel separatist demands in the South, which has for years sought Nigeria’s restructuring.
Another fuel is Buhari’s failure to prosecute Boko Haram terrorists, Islamist jihadists, who kidnap for ransom in the North and murder at will.
There is no crime Buhari has accused Kanu and Igboho of committing in the South which terrorists are not doing worse in the North, where the jihadists prevent farmers from cultivating crops and murder law-abiding citizens with impunity.
On July 16, the army announced that the terrorists murdered Hassan Ahmed, a Major General and Director at Army Headquarters, Abuja.
The army said Ahmed, a former Provost of Marshall of the Nigerian Army, was travelling on the Lokoja-Abuja Road when his vehicle was attacked by gunmen around Abaji area council on July 15.
A source close to the family confirmed to Daily Post that the assassins kidnapped Ahmed’s sister, Safina, who was initially mistaken for his wife.
On July 18, the Nigerian Air Force announced that one of its alpha jet aircraft used for attacks against armed men crashed in the North West “under intense enemy fire” from terrorists.
There was no casualty as the pilot ejected and escaped enemy fire.
“On 18 July 2021, at about 12.45 pm, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft, returning from a successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna State, came under intense enemy fire which led to its crash in Zamfara State,” Air Force spokesman Edward Gabkwet said in a statement.
This brings to at least four the number of air crashes involving Nigerian military planes in seven months.
Also on July 18, the police announced that 13 officers were killed that day during an operation to repel an attack by bandits in Kurar Mota village in Zamfara State.
State police spokesperson Muhammad Shehu confirmed in a statement that the officers paid the supreme price and many bandits were also killed.
“The attack occurred on Sunday at about 1230hrs, when Police Mobile operatives deployed at Kurar Mota village in Bungudu LGA were responding to a distress call with regards to an attempt by bandits to attack some nearby communities,” Shehu said.
All of these deaths occurred within three weeks in July. Thousands of others have been killed by terrorists in the North since they began their Islamist jihad in 2009.
Last week, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) accused Buhari of doing injustice and demanded his impeachment for releasing 1,009 Boko Haram murderers while locking up Kanu.
The murderers, who had been in military custody at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, were released on July 14 without court trial.
They were handed over to the Borno State government in a secret ceremony initially billed to take place at an earlier date but was suspended indefinitely by the military authorities in the wake of the appointment of a new Chief of Army Staff.
Igboho arrested for allegedly stockpiling arms
The BBC reports that Igboho was arrested by security forces at an airport in Cotonou on Monday night, three weeks after the DSS declared him wanted for allegedly stockpiling arms.
The DSS had earlier said it was pursuing him after fleeing a raid on his residence in Ibadan on July 1, two days after he called for anti-government protests. The agency said it recovered a cache of arms from his home in the raid.
Igboho, an activist for an independent Yoruba nation, has been accused of inciting violence against Fulani herders in the South, an allegation he denies.
DSS arrests 13 suspects during raid
DSS Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunanya, disclosed on July 2 that 13 suspects were arrested when Igboho’s residence was raided based on information he stockpiled weapons.
“In the course of the exchange, two of Igboho’s armed men were gunned down while the rest were subdued and arrested.
“Only one DSS operative, who was shot by the assailants on his right hand, sustained injury. He has, however, received medical attention and is very stable,” Afunanya said.
According to the DSS, weapons recovered were
· Seven AK-47 assault rifles
· Three pump action guns
· 30 fully charged AK-47 magazines
· 5,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition
· Five machetes
The DSS said the weapons were proof that Igboho planned an insurrection against the federal government.
