I’m a victim of Fulani persecution–Igboho
Says arms planted by security operatives to nail him.
By Kunle Oduwole, Ibadan
Yoruba self determination promoter, Chief Sunday Igboho has described himself as a victim of “Fulani persecution.”
He said the attacks on his home was a design to pave the way for Fulani invasion of Yoruba territories.
In a statement he made available Friday and obtained by Irohinoodua, Igboho said the invasion of his home by Nigerian security operatives and the Department of State Security’s (DSS) announcement declaring him wanted has made it essential for me to set the records straight.
He said “Nigerian security operatives invaded my residence in the early hours of Wednesday, 1 July, 2021. The invasion was done without a search warrant. I was not invited for questioning/investigation at any government facility before the invasion. The operatives that stormed my residence destroyed my properties, killed persons and stole valuables and money. Pictures and videos of their atrocities have been widely reported in the media.”
He said Nigerians and the world at large are aware of his resistance to the incessant killings, raping and kidnapping of the people in Southwest Nigeria by armed Fulani herdsmen adding that the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari and his government to curb the criminal activities of the murderous herdsmen necessitated his intervention.
“I ordinarily would not have intervened if government had lived up to its responsibility of securing the Southwest and Nigeria at large from the criminal activities of the President’s ethnic men. Of public knowledge, my intervention has not let to any loss of live or bloodshed. My means of curbing criminality is to the chase the criminal Fulani herdsmen out of their hideouts in company of the people of the affected communities. It is because of the foreseen government persecution that videos of such interventions were transmitted live on social media. Nigerians, the security operatives, and the presidency are aware that I have never moved against the peaceful Fulani’s and other tribes living peacefully in the Southwest.”
According to him, his unjust persecution for defending Yoruba people and community is surprising
He argued that after several unsuccessful attempts to link him to any crime, the Buhari regime desperately opted to forcefully silence me, so that the criminal herdsmen, who he said enjoy government’s sympathy, protection and immunity, can easily outrun the Southwest.
“The presidency’s serial antics and desperation to acquire people’s ancestral lands across Nigeria for foreign Fulani herdsmen because they share ethnicity and occupation with the President is well known to Nigerians and the international community. I am being seen as a threat to the Fulanization agenda in the Southwest, hence the desperation to soil my name,” he said.
Igboho sad Nigerians and the international community should be aware that the security operatives that invaded his home either planted the ammunitions being paraded in the media in his home or harvested them from their armoury to frame him up.
“The arms paraded are not mine, they are government magic. I protect myself with traditional powers, not with guns. The Federal government framed me up and the sequence of events brings the truth bare. Why would the security agents invade my home at night and destroy my surveillance cameras before carrying out their operation if not that they had an ulterior motive? In this modern age of technological advancement, why did the security operatives not put on body cameras to record their activities from the point of entry to their time of exit?”
Igboho said their action was a testament that the Buhari regime is incurable of using desperate approach to silence peaceful social interventions.
He said “The unwarranted military invasion of Lekki, gruesome killing of peaceful EndSARS protesters, and evacuation of their bodies on 20 October 2020 is still fresh in the mind of Nigerians. A similar approach was adopted during the invasion of my home. The security operatives killed scores and took away their bodies. Buhari’s regime would have declared that ‘unknown gunmen’ invaded my home if they had succeeded in killing me. Nigerians and the international community should beware that desperate efforts are being made to force those arrested to make implicating confession statement.”
He advised the DSS to desist from what he called “unprofessional acts and devote such energy to eradicating insecurity.”
He said further “Nigerians and the international community should please note that I am a law-abiding citizen without blemish. I advise President Buhari to, in the interest of Nigerians that voted him to power, order his henchmen to desist from using falsehood and unholy tactics to soil my name. Such energy should be devoted to taming the herdsmen and bandits freely committing heinous crimes across Nigeria with impunity because their kinsman is in power.”
Igboho said Yoruba people would not be demanding for a nation if the government had lived up to its responsibilities.
“Self-determination is not a crime and all effort to silence us and acquire our ancestral land for local and foreign criminal herdsmen will fail. Many Ken Saro-Wiwa arose after Nigerian government unjustly executed the non-violent activist. Those that emerged after him confronted government and almost brought Nigeria to its knees. I am another Saro-Wiwa. Therefore, I advise President Buhari to learn from the mistake of past governments. I am not Nigeria’s problem and should not be framed up or intimidated for contributing my quota to ensure peace reigns in my region and country,”Igboho lamented