Prominent Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has recounted his version of events during the controversial raid on his Ibadan residence by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in July 2021.
Speaking while receiving a delegation of Muslim leaders at his residence in Ibadan on Monday, Igboho claimed he remained inside the house throughout the operation despite security operatives surrounding the property in an attempt to arrest him.
According to him, the operatives arrived at about 1:30 a.m. and immediately opened fire after hearing his voice. He alleged that explosives were used to gain access to the building after security barriers were breached.
Igboho said he initially considered surrendering but abandoned the idea because he feared he would be killed.
“One part of me wanted to surrender, while another warned me not to because I believed I would not come out alive,” he said.
The activist claimed the operatives mistakenly shot and killed a cat after believing it was him. He also alleged that a man he described as a “fake herbalist” was brought to the scene to perform rituals in an effort to locate him, insisting that he watched the entire operation from inside the house without being discovered.
He further alleged that one of his relatives, who was partially blind, was shot after being mistaken for an attacker, adding that several bodies were taken away after the operation.
Igboho attributed his survival to divine intervention and prayers offered by Muslim clerics who, according to him, had earlier warned of an impending danger.
The DSS raid on Igboho’s Soka residence on July 1, 2021, followed months of tension between the activist and the Federal Government after he issued ultimatums to some Fulani residents in parts of Oyo State over allegations of criminal activities and intensified his campaign for the creation of an independent Yoruba Nation.
At the time, the DSS said it recovered firearms and ammunition from the residence, arrested 13 of Igboho’s associates, and stated that two of his aides were killed during an exchange of gunfire. Igboho has consistently disputed aspects of the agency’s account.
Following the raid, the activist fled Nigeria and was later arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while attempting to travel to Germany. He was subsequently released by Beninese authorities after legal proceedings and has since remained outside Nigeria, where he continues to advocate for the Yoruba Nation movement.
The latest remarks by Igboho have reignited public discussion over the 2021 operation, although the DSS has not responded to his fresh claims.
