Prominent Yoruba Nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has narrated his ordeal in detention in the Republic of Benin, saying he was treated like a hardened criminal while in custody.
Igboho spoke on Monday during a thank you visit to the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his residence in Bodija, Ibadan, where he emotionally recounted his experience at the Cotonou prison.
According to him, the conditions of his detention were harsh and dehumanising until the intervention of respected Yoruba leaders at home and in the diaspora, particularly Oba Ladoja.
“I was lodged with hardened criminals. I was treated like someone who committed serious crimes,” Igboho said, as he broke down in tears.
He explained that the Olubadan’s intervention brought relief at a critical moment, describing it as fatherly and timely.
“Oba Ladoja gave me hope when everything looked hopeless. His intervention saved the situation. I was later relocated from the terrible place I was initially kept to a more conducive environment,” he stated.
Igboho added that the experience changed his outlook on life, noting that his freedom would have been impossible without the involvement of the monarch.
“My encounter with Oba Ladoja has changed my perception about life. I would not have regained my freedom if not for his intervention,” he said.
The Yoruba Nation agitator further revealed that Oba Ladoja personally informed him of efforts made at the highest level to resolve the matter.
“He called me on Friday and told me he had met with Tinubu concerning my case. He said the issue had been resolved and that I was free to return to Nigeria,” Igboho disclosed.
Igboho’s detention followed his arrest in Benin Republic after fleeing Nigeria in the wake of a raid on his Ibadan residence by operatives of the Department of State Services.
