There was tension in parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Friday as news of attempt by a team of the Nigerian army, the police and the Directorate of State Security, on a Yoruba socio-cultural activists, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a Sunday Igboho filtered in.
Igboho has been at the forefront of the clamour for the eviction of killer herdsmen from the South-West with records of visits to the troubled Igangan community in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state, including Ogun and Ondo states.
The attempt to arrest him came weeks after the Inspector General of Police issued an arrest warrant on him for giving an eviction notice to killer herdsmen in Igangan and Oke Ogun parts of the state.
The activist was intercepted on the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway on his way to see an Afenifere chieftain, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, in Lagos but the security agents were boldly resisted.
He was said to have been stopped by a joint team comprising 40 officers and men but they were reportedly stiffly resisted by Igboho and those on his entourage.
Reacting to the incidence, former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani Kayode, who paid a visit to Sunday Igboho in his home in Ibadan recently, condemned the attempt to arrest him.
“I spoke to my brother, Sunday Igboho. He told me there was a violent attempt to arrest him this afternoon by a joint team of soldiers, DSS operatives and policemen numbering about 40 on the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway whilst he was on his way to see Baba Ayo Adebanjo in Lagos.
“I condemn this attempt to ambush and abduct him. It is not only reckless but also very dangerous. If the security agencies want to see him all they need to do is to invite him to their office.
“I am not aware of any crime that he has committed and I urge restraint on all sides. Let me also send a warning to the Federal Government that Sunday Igboho is a hero to millions of Yorubas and either killing him or detaining him unlawfully would be the biggest mistake they could make.
“Building bridges, dialogue and the pursuit of peace is better than intimidation, threats, violence and war. A word is enough for the wise,” he said.
