Armed men believed to be working as guards of Sunday Igboho Thursday morning engaged operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in a gun battle during a raid by the secret agency on home of the tribalist fighter at Soka, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
This is according to the DSS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dr. Peter Afunanya, who stated this during a press conference on Thursday following the arrest of 13 of Igboho’s armed men by a team of joint security operatives.
The raid, according to Afunanya, followed intelligence that Igboho was stockpiling arms to cause chaos within the southwest region.
“On approach to his residence, the team came under heavy gun attack by nine men suspected to be Igboho’s guards. Six were armed with AK-47 guns and three others with pump-action rifles,” the DSS spokesman said.
“In the course of the exchange, two of the armed men were gunned down, while the rest were subdued and arrested. Only one operative, who was shot by the assailants in his right hand, sustained injury. He has, however, received medical attention and is very stable.
“The gun duel, which lasted an hour, offered Igboho the chance to escape. Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, is now on the run.”
While noting that two of Igboho’s men were killed, the secret service said DSS operative sustained injuries.
The highlights of the media brief, Afunanya said, were to, among other things, “i. Inform Nigerians and the world that Sunday IGBOHO and his group, in the guise of campaign for self-determination, have become well-armed and determined to undermine public order. This, the arrests and seizures are, no doubt, a confirmation of a grand plan by IGBOHO and his cohorts to wage a violent insurrection against the Nigerian State.
“ii. Alert foreign missions and licencing authorities within and outside Nigeria about this development and the possibility that IGBOHO could declare some of his personal permit and identity cards missing in order to seek their replacement.
“iii. Apprise stakeholders that the Five (5) AK-47 assault rifles recovered from the building are suspected to be those collected by IGBOHO’s men from Nigerian Customs and Immigration personnel at Idi Iroko, Ogun State,” he said.
According to the DSS Spokesman, “The gun duel which lasted for an hour offered IGBOHO the chance to escape. Sunday ADEYEMO a.k.a Sunday IGBOHO is now on the run.”
He said: “IGBOHO may run as far as he can. He may hide as long as he wants. He might have attacked security operatives as his strength carried him. But this will be the end of his shenanigans. Soon, he will not have a hiding place. His strength will sure fail him. And the law will catch up with him. The law may be slow. But it will be steady.
“Consequently, ADEYEMO/IGBOHO is advised to turn himself in to the nearest security agency. Those cheering and eulogising him may appeal to or advise him to do the needful. He should surrender himself to the appropriate authorities. He or anyone can never be above the law. Meanwhile, those arrested will be charged accordingly,” DSS Spokesman said.
Igboho was also said to have escaped during the gun battle and is currently on the run, with security operatives calling on him to turn himself in or be tracked down.
The 13 suspected armed agitators that were arrested consist of 12 males and 1 female. A large cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered by the operatives.
Igboho rose to prominence earlier in the year after he issued a quit notice to herders in Oyo State accused of crimes.
The raid was coming less than a week after the arrest of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) terrorist group leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu was arrested abroad after four years he had jumped bail and was extradited to Nigeria, where he will go on trial for “terrorism” this month.
