Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho) yesterday demanded an apology from the federal government over the invasion of his residence by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) in the early hours of Thursday.
Igboho, also, demanded N500 million compensation due to damage to his exotic cars that include Mercedes Benz G-Class and 2019 Lexus Car.
He made these demands in a statement by his counsel, Chief Yomi Aliyu (SAN), describing invasion of Igboho’s residence as grossly illegal and unconstitutional.
Aliyu, in the statement, asked the federal government to investigate the actions of the various security operatives led by DSS that raided Igboho’s house with a view to sanctioning them and release all the innocent people arrested and compensate the families of those murdered.
He added that Igboho should be paid #500million as reparation for damage to his exotic cars that include Mercedes Benz G-Class and 2019 Lexus Car. He also demanded a public apology.
He said: “Trampling of our client’s fundamental rights including tagging him as a criminal by exhibiting DSS guns as his should stop forthwith.
“In any case as admirers of this government and one Nigeria, we personally implore all the governors in the Southwest to know the yearnings of their people and Igboho’s large followership to wade in before it becomes hydra-headed security problems in all their domains.”
Aliyu noted that Igboho in his open crusade for the establishment of Oodua Republic “has always preached peace and warned his followers never to have recourse to violence. This was done in more than 20 Yoruba towns and cities.
“The invasion of the residence of a peace loving crusader like him is nothing but calling a dog a bad name to hang it. It is the right of a group of homogeneous or indigenous people in a federation to ask for self-determination in accordance with the rules of international law and the UNO Charter.
“Our constitution also permits freedom of association and, by necessary implications, freedom to associate. We were reliably informed that DSS and other security forces invaded the residence of our client in the wee hours of the day (between 1.00 a.m. and 4.30 a.m.)
“There is nowhere in the civilised world that a citizen who had no prior invitation by security agent or resisting 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.”
He pointed out that section 12 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act enjoined the police or any security operatives “to first make a demand to enter a place where a suspect is if their demand was not granted to break open the outer or inner door of any house or place.”
He noted that no demand to enter was made, but rather they shot their way into the house allegedly killing seven people though DSS spokesman admitted killing two people which involved an old imam that used to lead Muslim occupants in prayers and observing TAHJUD at the time of the barbaric raid.
He added that a lady among the invaders “was allegedly shouting if you get him gun him down. Our client knew that the mission was to get rid of him and not to arrest him.
“This belief becomes more realistic in view of the fact that the CCTV recorder was off and taken away so that the carnage will not be shown to members of the public.
“Our client then knew that he was to be taken dead or alive as allegedly stated by the lady among the raiders. It should be stated that without any resistance or shooting at the security operatives they started shooting from the gate and ensured that the building was totally made uninhabitable,” the statement said.
Also, the statement said all the expensive vehicles in Igboho’s house were shot at and destroyed, saying the rampaging operatives were disappointed that they could allegedly not find a single gun or ammunition in his house.
Hence, the statement noted that the DSS operatives arrested two police escorts of Igboho’s guests and added their guns to those harvested from their armoury with a view to making members of the public to believe that “our client keeps militia or as stated by them, he is about waging war on Nigeria.”
It said: “Will this be with his mere amulets. People who know our client of over 20 years will testify that Igboho Oosa does not carry guns on his person!
“It is elementary law that whenever a search warrant is executed on a house the house owner must first search the persons sent to execute the same and also sign the inventory of what was recovered in executing the warrant!
“This explains why the DSS invaded the house in the night, shooting everything at sight, killing and maiming the occupants to plant their illegal guns on our client.
“We have also been reliably informed that those arrested were being tortured to incriminate our client that guns and ammunition were recovered from his house.
“Igboho knew that he would be arrested one day hence retaining our services. He could not be that daft to keep incriminating articles in his house! Our client’s house is a 5 bedroom duplex with 5 chalets of 2 and 3 bedrooms.
“These were totally damaged with operatives allegedly arguing on whether to burn down the edifice as done to his former palatial house. The lady officer allegedly put her foot down against arson.
“One thousand euro, two million naira, expensive jewelries worth millions, travel documents, amulets, iPhone 12 belonging to him, phones of about 15 others living in the house including those killed by the raiders and other belongings yet to be identified belonging to his wives were carted away.
“The only guns were those of the police escorts of his guests! More importantly, the DSS and other operatives that raided the house said they came to arrest Sunday Igboho but ended up arresting innocent people in lieu of him.
“Apart from being a serious violation of these peoples’ peoples constitutional rights it is an assault on s. 7 of ACJA and decisions of our courts in that regard.”