Professor Banji Akintoye, the leader of the Ilana Omo Oodua movement for the self-determination of the Yoruba people, claimed on Saturday that President Bola Tinubu played no part in the recent release of the Yoruba nation agitator Chief Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, from protective custody in the Republic of Benin.
Igboho, who was freed last week Sunday by the Benion government, under the direction of President Patrice Talon, acknowledged the assistance and sympathy of various famous Yoruba leaders during his over two-year ordeal in Cotonou.
But in response to a widely shared video on social media made by an unnamed Igbo militant leader, who allegedly said that Tinubu should secure the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu in the same way that he (Tinubu) made it possible for Sunday Igboho to be freed, Akintoye said: “President Tinubu had no hands in Sunday Igboho’s freedom.”
The leader of Ilana Omo Oodua claimed in a statement given to Sunday Tribune that “this is imperative in order to rectify the false perception in some quarters that President Bola Tinubu assisted Chief Sunday Adeyemo’s liberation in Cotonou last week Sunday.
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The statement was signed by Mr. Gani Alagbala, the spokesperson for Akintoye.
“This is in response to the viral video of an Igbo militant leader calling for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, just as he (the President) has released Chief Sunday Igboho,” reads the statement.
“Even so, we won’t hold it against our Igbo brothers or judge them in any way for wanting Nnamdi Kanu, the head of the IPOB, to be free.
But we need to correct the record. The Nigerian government and administration, which is led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had nothing to do with our frontliner’s release or complete freedom. Igboho Chief Sunday Adeyemo
“We give the credit to the All-Powerful God, then to our leadership’s efforts in this Yoruba nation battle, which were helped by kind friends both at home and abroad. It had been a long and difficult journey, but we praise God for finally allowing us to achieve Sunday’s freedom.
“We vehemently refute any involvement of any politicians or government officials from Nigeria in any of these processes, simply because there was none. We want to express our gratitude to the Republic of Benin’s government for upholding our right to justice despite some political pressure.
The message added, “And we wish our Igbo brother Mazi Nnamdi Kanu a quicker release from the Nigerian prison.”
