The embattled Yoruba nation campaigner, Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a. Igboho yesterday made good his threat to sue the federal authorities over the July 2 raid of his Sooka, Ibadan residence by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
Igboho filed a suit at the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, against the DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), seeking N500 billion damages.
He is praying the court for an order for the enforcement of his fundamental human right.
The suit was filed on a day one of his counsel dismissed as untrue speculations that a Beninese passport was found on the activist.
Besides, a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to produce before it on Thursday, July 29, 2021, 12 associates of Igboho who were arrested during the July 2 raid of his Ibadan residence.
Igboho’s suit, according to his lawyers, derived from the fundamental human rights (Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009) and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court as preserved by Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution.
During the security raid of the plaintiff’s residence, two of his aides were shot dead while14 others were arrested. The DSS has paraded the suspects and ammunition which they allegedly recovered from the house.
But the embattled campaigner, who is currently standing trial in Cotonou, Benin Republic, denied that he kept ammunition in his house, saying the armed law enforcers must have come with the said ammunition.
In the suit, Igboho, through his lawyer Chief Yomi Aliu (SAN), is seeking orders declaring the invasion as a violation of his fundamental human right, and destruction of his property as a violation of his fundamental right to peacefully own property and wealth.
He wants N500 billion as compensation.
The sum was described as “exemplary and/or aggravated damages for breaching the applicant’s fundamental rights in the course of illegal and/or malicious invasion of his residence situate, lying and being at Igboho Villa. No.1, Dalag Street, Off Soka Bus Stop, Soka Area, Off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ibadan.”
Igboho is also asking the court for a declaration that it was “oppressive, malicious, arbitrary and grossly unconstitutional for the 2nd & 3rd respondents to invade” his residence lying and being at Igboho Villa, 1, Dalag Street, Off Soka Bus Stop, Soka Area, Off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ibadan “without announcing who they were and ask the applicant to open his gate but rather shot their way through killing two people including an elderly Imam doing Tahjud (night vigil), shooting at cars thereby destroying them and not sparing animals like cats and dogs in total violation of the intendments of the Fundamental Human Rights’ provision in CFRN, 1999 and African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement), Act, LFN 2010 protecting the-dignity of human person, sanctity of human life and privacy of citizens and their homes.”
The plaintiff urged the court to declare that the respondents’ resolve in preventing him from “propagating his belief in association with other like minds in creating a Yoruba Nation and/or Oduduwa Republic for his Indigenous Yoruba People and hunting him with gun with a view to arresting him dead or alive when he has not called for war in achieving same is against his fundamental rights to freedom of thought, conscience and association since campaign for self-determination is recognised by Nigerian Law and international treaties of organisations to which Nigeria belongs.”
He prayed the court for an injunction restraining the respondents from arresting, harassing or disturbing him in any way that can violate his fundamental human rights.
Igboho had, soon after the raid, demanded an apology from the DSS and payment of N500 million as damages for destroying his Ibadan residence during the midnight raid.
His lawyer had, in a statement entitled ‘Illegal and Grossly Unconstitutional Invasion’ declared that his client has “always preached peace and warned his followers never to have recourse to violence, saying that ‘it is God and alale (ancestors) that will fight for Yoruba Nation.”
He said: “There is nowhere in the civilised world that a citizen who had no prior invitation by security agent or had resisted arrest will be so invaded with his rights to dignity of human persons, ownership of property and sanctity of life trampled upon during the invasion.
“No demand to enter was made but rather they shot their way into the house allegedly killing seven people, though a DSS spokesman admitted killing two people.”
One of Igboho’s counsel, Ibrahim David Salami, yesterday dismissed as untrue speculations that a Beninese passport was found on the activist.
Salami told BBC Yoruba in Cotonou that only Nigerian and German passports were found in his possession at the time of his arrest last Monday while on his way to Frankfurt.
Earlier reports had suggested that Igboho was being quizzed by the Beninese authorities partly on account of that country’s passport he carried at the time of his arrest.
“No Beninese passport was found on Sunday Igboho when he was arrested,” Salami said.
He added: “What was found on him were Nigerian and German passports.
“His wife had her German passport at the point of arrest.”
Following the bloody raid on Igboho’s Sooka residence, the Department of State Services arrested and detained 13 of Igboho’s associates, adding that during a “gun duel,” it had killed two of Igboho’s supporters later identified as Adogan and Alfa.
DSS had presented seven AK-47 rifles allegedly recovered during the raid on Igboho’s house on July 1, as well as three pump-action guns, 30 fully charged AK-47 magazines, 5,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, five cutlasses, one jack-knife, one pen knife, two pistol holsters, a pair of binoculars, a wallet containing $5, local and international driving licences in his name, ATM cards, a German residence permit No. YO2N6K1NY bearing his name, two whistles, 50 cartridges and 18 walkie-talkies.
Others were three charm jackets/traditional body armour, two laptops, one Toshiba and one Compaq laptop, Igboho’s passport and those of his aides.
Hearing in Igboho’s case in Cotonou is scheduled to resume on Monday.
The Court on Thursday evening ordered that he be remanded in the custody of Brigade Criminelle in Cotonou pending the submission of charges by the Nigerian government.
The activist and his wife, Ropo, were arrested at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport, Cotonou on Monday while trying to catch a flight to Germany.
Spokesman for the Yoruba self-determination groups’ umbrella body, Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO) Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, quoting Igboho’s lawyers, said the activist could not be extradited to Nigeria for two principal reasons: Nigeria and Benin have no Extradition Agreement; and Nigeria has not been able to come up with charges that could lead the court to order lgboho’s extradition to Nigeria.”
“What Nigerian government came up with were mere allegations against Igboho such as trafficking in arms and inciting violence that could result in the social disturbance without evidence…” he said.
Igboho has been remanded in the custody of Brigade Criminelle while his wife was released.
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