Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, an embattled Yoruba activist, has stated that he fled Nigeria to avoid being killed.
The DSS declared Igboho wanted on July 1 following a raid on his Ibadan home. On July 19, he was apprehended in Benin Republic while attempting to fly to Germany with his wife. He has been arraigned in Cotonou's courts.
While speaking to the Nation about what happened in court on Monday, July 27, Igboho's lawyer, David Ibrahim Salami, said.
“In defending himself against the criminal charges leveled against him by Nigeria, Igboho told the judges that he had never been tried for a crime in his life.
When the judge inquired how and when he entered the Benin Republic, who accommodated him, and who took him to the airport, Igboho informed the court that he came to flee his traducers who intended to kill him in Nigeria. He emphasized that he only stayed in Cotonou for one day before attempting to get to Germany.
The lawyer went on by saying;
“What astounded me was the judge's explicit statement that Igboho's extended detention is not due to concerns with Nigeria, but rather to infractions committed here in the Benin Republic.”
Salami stated that Igboho was imprisoned following the court session to allow for an inquiry into how and why he arrived in Cotonou. He stated that no date has been set for the trial to resume because the authorities would need time to determine how Igboho entered the country.
According to him, Benin Republic law authorizes Igboho to be granted bail until the conclusion of the investigation. When asked why the trial is being held behind closed doors, Salami stated that the judgment will be read out in open court once the investigations are completed.
He stated that the major goal today is to determine if the activist entered Cotonou legally or illegally, and what his mission was.
According to Igboho's legal counsel, the Nigerian government has yet to submit a complaint against him before the Benin Republic court.
“We have also seen no written complaints from Nigeria filed before the court. “It is just a case between the Benin Republic and Sunday Igboho,” he explained.