Chief ‘Yomi Alliyu SAN, counsel to Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly called Sunday Igboho, has described the Yoruba activist as a political offender who cannot be extradite from the Republic of Benin.
Igboho, who has been declared wanted by the Department of State Security (DSS) three weeks ago, was arrested by security operatives at a Cotonou airport, on Monday night, reportedly on his way to Germany.
Leader of the Yoruba group, Senator Banji Akintoye, who had, earlier on Tuesday, confirmed the arrest of Igboho, also said efforts are ongoing to avert his possible extradition from the Republic of Benin to Nigeria.
Reacting to the arrest, his counsel, Yomi Alliyu, in a release, said Igboho is an activist who is seeking for self-determination and thus cannot be extradite, being a political fugitive.
He said it was shocking to hear that the Nigerian government has gotten Sunday Igboho arrested by the INTERPOL in the Republic of Benin.
Alliyu said the arrest was against the political nature of his offence and also against what the DSS had earlier said that they refrained from arresting him so as not to overheat the polity of South-Western Nigeria.
He advised the INTERPOL and Benin Republic “to be aware of the savagery acts committed in our clients house in the wee hours of 1st July, 202; between 1.00am and 3.00am; shooting their way through and killing two people in the process and maliciously damaging his properties in the course of that illegal invasion.
“Though the invading DSS officers did not state any reason for their invasion of our client’s house before or during the invasion, they later paraded 13 people and ammunitions which our client denied to be his.
“Our client is a peaceful campaigner for self-determination and it is on good record that the guns and ammunitions displayed were the same displayed in 2013 in another instance.
“This could be seen on 2013 Facebook though DSS has dismissed this on their website. But what they cannot deny is that when they were leaving our client’s house they left with two corpses and people arrested and nothing more except two guns belonging to the police escorts of Mr. Adisa Saheed Olalekan.
“One of the people they killed was one Mr. Saheed Adisa Olalekan of Oladams Motors, Osogbo, who came to Sunday Igboho’s house to discuss auto business.
“He [Olalekan] came with two police escorts. Though the policemen were not among the people paraded to the public, their guns were among those displayed,” he said.
Chief Alliyu further said an existing extradition treaty between four West African countries, including Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Republic, grants Igboho immunity from being extradited from the Republic of Benin.
“The Extradition Treaty of 1984 between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Republic of Benin excluded political fugitives. It also states that where the fugitive will not get justice because of discrimination and/or undue delay in prosecution, the host country should not release the fugitive.
“Now, Article 20 of African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to which the four countries are signatories made agitation for self-determination a fundamental right to be protected by all countries.
“This made Chief Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho) a political offender who cannot be deported and/or extradited by the good people of the Republic of Benin for any reason.
“Secondly, that he cannot get justice or can even be killed is apparent in how those arrested in his house were detained for more than 21days now without access to their lawyers.
“Even the wife among them [those arrested and detained] could not change her undies for 21days! Which inhuman treatment can be more this?
“Again another wife of our client, Mrs. Ropo Adeyemo, a German citizen, has been arrested together with her husband in Cotonou. What offence has she committed to warrant this?,” Alliyu asked in the release.
He therefore called on the government of the Republic of Benin and international community, especially Germany, to curb what he said is the impunity of the Nigerian government and refuse any application for extradition of Igboho.
He said the admonition became more pertinent as Igboho already has application before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and which has been duly acknowledged.
