• Sunday Igboho

Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho, boasted that “No one can take me or my family captive, as they reside abroad.”

Igboho made the declaration when the newly elected officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students, led by Akinteye Bàbàtunde, visited him at his Ibadan residence.

In a video posted by Wisdom TV, Igboho revealed his willingness to confront the bandits directly but claimed he was met with resistance from the state government.

He insisted that he never sought any financial compensation from the Seyi Makinde administration for the rescue of the 47 kidnapped individuals.

“If I am permitted to burst into the hideouts, they will flee. They are neither gnomes nor mannequins; they are humans, so that they could be dislodged. I know the politicians behind them, and if they do not stop perpetrating their evil acts, I will mention them all. I know them. The politicians behind them are the ones giving them ammunition and money,” said Igboho.

Igboho noted: ” They (Oyo government) informed me that the kidnappers said if I try to force myself to come rescue the children, they will kill them all.

If they are serious about rescuing the victims, they should tell my boys and me to chase them out of the forests in our regions and see if those people will remain there even with their bombs and sophisticated weapons,” he said.

Igboho compared the current political climate to past events, stating, “The same thing they did to Jonathan is what they are doing to Tinubu. They want to make the country ungovernable for him. They even have fake news propaganda to scare the masses and divert supporters away from the President. Suppose the recent abduction is not a game. In Oyo, they made away with children. I volunteered to go, but the state government said ‘No.’”

He went on to recount a warning he received, stating that the kidnappers threatened to kill the children should he attempt a rescue. “If they are serious about saving the victims, let them instruct my team and me to chase the bandits out of our forests and see if they can withstand the onslaught, even with their sophisticated weapons,” he asserted.

Government approval for his security initiative, “Iru Ekun,” the Oyo State Government has prohibited him from intervening, claiming any rescue attempt could endanger the kidnapped children.

“After forming ‘Iru Ekun,’ the Federal Government backed me, but the state warned that no security forces could assist me. Are we supposed to wait while they continue to terrorize? I care deeply for these abductees; no one can take me or my family captive, as they reside abroad,” he stated.

Questioning the motivations behind the political situation, Igboho remarked, “No matter how flawed Buhari’s regime may have been, he finished his term. Why are they trying to sabotage a Yoruba man—Tinubu—from completing his? It was Tinubu who liberated me when I was in exile. Why should I oppose him, or why are they trying to undermine his administration?”

In light of these challenges, Igboho is pushing to officially launch his “Iru Ekun Security Network” to combat the criminal activity plaguing the South-West’s forests, while also pledging to adhere to the new regulations set forth by Governor Seyi Makinde to manage private security firms in Oyo State.

This development led Igboho to seek approval to launch his security outfit, “Iru Ekun Security Network,” as part of efforts to dislodge criminal elements from the South-West forests.

He also expressed his readiness to comply with the Executive Order recently issued by the Oyo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, to regulate the activities of private security firms in the state.