Supporters of Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo,
popularly referred to as Sunday Igboho, were seen in their large numbers at
Cour De’appal De Cotonou on Thursday.
The supporters said they were in court ahead of the
arraignment of Sunday Igboho, who was arrested in the country on Monday.
The Yoruba-speaking supporters demanded that Igboho should
not be returned to Nigeria, saying that he had committed no offence.
There had been reports that Igboho may be arraigned today
before a Court of Appeal in Benin Republic.
As of the time of filing this report, Igboho was yet to
arrive at the court.
Our correspondent gathered that the rights activist was held
by Brigade Criminelle in Cotonou after he was arrested at Cardinal Bernardin
International Airport, Cotonou, Republic of Benin, with his wife on their way
to Germany on Monday night.
On Wednesday, there were protests in Ibadan, Cotonou and
London against Igboho’s arrest.
In Ibadan, armed policemen dispersed his supporters who
protested in the city.
The protesters marched through the road leading to Soka area
to the Soka bus stop along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where they sang and
demanded the release of Igboho.
The protesters were bearing placards with various
inscriptions.
A street hawker at the Soka bus stop told one of our
correspondents that Igboho supporters said the Federal Government should not
kill Igboho the way the winner of the June 12, 1993 election, Chief Moshood
Abiola, was allegedly killed.
The hawker said the protest grounded traffic in the area and
some motorists had to take alternative routes.
A resident of the area, Musbau Ogunbiyi, said the protest
started at about 1:50pm.
Read Also
He said, “The policemen came in about four patrol vans and a
car. They shot in the air and chased away the protesters.”
But another resident, Taye Adeoti, said the protesters
marched towards the Challenge area after spending some minutes at the bus stop.
One of our correspondents observed that the armed police had
taken over the place around 3:30pm when he arrived there.
In Cotonou, Republic of Benin, some Yoruba people in the
city stormed the country’s court where it was believed the extradition hearing
of Igboho would hold.
The protesters were seen singing solidarity songs and
demanding freedom for Igboho in a video on the Facebook page of Olayomi Koiki,
Igboho’s media aide.
The agitators also demanded an independent nation of Yoruba
people, saying they had confidence in Benin Republic justice system.
In the two-minute video, an unnamed speaker told supporters
of the activist to be calm, saying that “Igboho is alright, but has not gone to
Germany” as being speculated.
“We are in Cotonou at the moment where the extradition case
of Sunday Igboho will hold. Baba is fine, but the case has not been decided,”
the speaker who spoke in Yoruba said.
Also, the Yoruba nation protesters in London stormed the
British parliament to protest against the arrest of the activist.
In a live video by Heritage media on Facebook monitored by
The PUNCH, protesters were seen with the Yoruba nation flag, placards and
branded T-shirts with inscriptions such as #Leave Our freedom fighters alone,
stop extrajudicial killings in southern Nigeria, Free Sunday Igboho, I stand
with Sunday Igboho.
An unnamed speaker urged the supporters of the activist to
be calm, saying “Igboho has not gone back to Germany as has been speculated. He
is still in Cotonou.
“We are calling on the regime of Muhammadu Buhari to leave
our freedom fighters alone. We are tired of the killings in Yorubaland. Enough
is enough.”
Details later…
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com