Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, a prominent Yoruba nation agitator, has been released from custody by the Beninese authorities.
Igboho confirmed on Sunday that he is now legally free to return to Nigeria and travel to other countries.
He stated, “I am now free to return to Nigeria and visit any country in the world. I have fulfilled all the legal conditions attached to my bail a few years back and I am coming home to Nigeria, my country of origin, any moment from now.”
Sunday Igboho
Igboho’s release comes after two years of legal proceedings in Benin.
In March 2021, Igboho made headlines when he declared the sovereignty of the Yoruba Nation.
He initiated a campaign to expel killer herdsmen and kidnappers from the South-West states and urged Yoruba people in Hausa/Fulani or Igbo territories to return home.
However, following a nocturnal raid on his Ibadan residence by the Department of State Services (DSS) in July 2021, he fled Nigeria.
The raid resulted in at least one fatality and the vandalism of some of his property.
The DSS claimed to have found seven AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, charms, and other weapons in his apartment during the operation.
This claim was later overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2022.
Igboho was subsequently arrested at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while attempting to flee to Germany.
Despite attempts by the former President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to repatriate him to Nigeria, those efforts were unsuccessful.