IGBOHO, IRU EKUN VS POLICE: Can influence override the Law? – PCRC Boss Adviser

*Warns against obstructing lawful police arrests

By KEMI KASUMU

“The real test of Iru Ẹkun is not whether it can confront criminals; it is whether it can respect the law even when the law knocks at its own door,” he said. Ajiginni concluded with a blunt message: “Influence is powerful. But in a constitutional democracy, influence must bow to the law.”

The growing influence of Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Igboho, and his Iru Ẹkun Security Network has triggered a fresh debate over the limits of grassroots power and the authority of the Nigeria Police Force.

Igboho’s Iru Ẹkun, which he says was established to complement conventional security agencies in the fight against crime, has reportedly attracted tens of thousands of volunteers.

But a fundamental question is now being raised: Can popularity and influence become immunity from the law?

Director of The City of Knowledge and Senior Special Assistant to the National Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Almudeer Akeem Ajiginni, says the answer is a firm no.

In a statement dated August 28, 2026, Ajiginni warned that no private security group—regardless of its size, popularity or the influence of its founder—has the legal authority to physically prevent the police from carrying out a lawful arrest.

He said Iru Ẹkun could support conventional security agencies but must not assume powers superior to those of the police.

“The moment private influence is used to physically prevent lawful police action, the argument changes from community security to obstruction of lawful authority,” Ajiginni warned.

He stressed that Nigeria is governed by the rule of law and not by the strength of an individual’s following or the size of a crowd behind him.

According to him, Igboho may command widespread grassroots loyalty, but such influence cannot confer immunity from lawful state authority.

Ajiginni also warned that what appears today as resistance to a police arrest could tomorrow become a threat to an ordinary citizen seeking protection from the same powerful group.

He therefore challenged Iru Ẹkun to demonstrate that its commitment to security extends beyond confronting criminals to respecting legitimate government authority.

“The real test of Iru Ẹkun is not whether it can confront criminals; it is whether it can respect the law even when the law knocks at its own door,” he said.

Ajiginni concluded with a blunt message:

“Influence is powerful. But in a constitutional democracy, influence must bow to the law.”