After years outside the country as a fugitive, the self-acclaimed Yoruba nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has become a free man.

Exactly five years after evicting the Fulani people residing in Igangan, Ibarapa North of Oyo State, the dramatis personae in the infamous invasion, Sunday Igboho, is now pardoned, working as a free man, it was gathered.

Igboho became prominent with his Yoruba nation agitation. He rose to further prominence when he gave the Fulani living in Ibarapa Zone of Oyo State, a quit notice over killings, abduction and the insecurity in the area.

The self-determination activist, whose name had been on the federal government’s list of wanted persons, was reportedly cleared by the government following advocacy by South-West stakeholders including governors and traditional rulers led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Rashidi Ladoja.

Who is Sunday Igboho?

Named Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, he is popularly known as Sunday Igboho, referencing his hometown of Igboho, which is part of Oke Ogun in Oyo State.

Born on October 10, 1972, Igboho became prominent due to his advocacy for an independent Yoruba Nation. Prior to the Yoruba nation agitation, Igboho was also acknowledged for his role in the Modakeke-Ife communal crisis in 1997, where he played an active part.

But he gained social media attention in January 2021, when he gave an ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen to vacate the land.

Sunday was born in Igboho, an old Oyo town, of Oke ogun in Oyo State. His father relocated the family to Modakeke in Osun State, where he grew up. He started off as a motorcycle repairer and then ventured into automobiles where he sells cars and was able to start what is known as “Adeson business”.

He has worked with several governors in Oyo State, starting with Lam Adesina and also former Governor Ladoja, who is now the Olubadan of Ibadanland. Those close to him said he was one of the most trusted aides of Ladoja, during his time as governor.

Sunday Igboho had in January 2021, invaded the Fulani settlement in Ibadan, with his people after a one-week ultimatum given to the Fulani to vacate Igangan. Igboho blamed the attacks in Igangan under Ibarapa North on the Fulani.

Sunday Igboho, who initially stormed the Sarkin Fulani settlement with his men, had accused the Fulani residents of being behind the series of kidnapping incidents, killings and insecurity in the area.

Weekend Trust gathered that after that incident, he was hailed by members of the community for his “boldness” and instantly transformed into a hero of sorts in Yorubaland. In some quarters he was hailed as “a savior” who had come to free the “oppressed” people of Yorubaland.

After the expiration of the deadline, Sunday Igboro ejected the Sarkin Fulani and his family from the palace. The cars and other properties belonging to the Fulani leader were subsequently razed.

The development created tension within the community, ending decades of communal harmony which had existed between the residents and the Fulani.

Over time Oyo and other South-West states have become home to Fulani herders. They had become part and parcel of communities, engaging in intermarriage, businesses among others. But this changed with the Igboho invasion.

Sarkin Fulani of Oyo State, Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadir, who was evicted from his Igangan palace repeatedly denied allegations that he was behind the attacks in the area. He said many herders also suffered casualties during various attacks in the community. He stressed that he had no hand in the attacks and had no mercenary anywhere to attack the people on his behalf.

Igboho’s journey to being a fugitive

The same month after the eviction of Fulani herders, the Department of State Services (DSS) raided his Soka, Ibadan home, where arms were allegedly recovered, aides arrested, and two people killed. There were several narratives about the whereabouts of Igboho, at the time with a school of thought claiming he deployed his supernatural power to disappear during the raid. What was glaring was that Igboho fled his home. He was subsequently declared wanted by the DSS.

His vehicles, including his G-wagon, Prado Jeep, and some valuable properties including furniture, and windows were destroyed. The then spokesperson of the DSS, Peter Afunnaya, later said seven AK 47 rifles, pump action guns and 5,000 rounds of ammunition and other weapons were recovered from the apartment. He said security operatives recovered the weapons after a “hot gun duel between them and Igboho’s guards”.

The DSS also admitted that two of Mr Igboho’s men were killed in the process while a security agent was shot in the right hand and hospitalised. Igboho later insisted the weapons were not his and that security operatives planted ammunition in his house in order to implicate him.

He was reportedly fleeing to Germany via Benin Republic, when he was captured at Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou. He was disembarked from his plane and subsequently arrested by the Beninese police. Prominent Yoruba leaders condemned the arrest while the Yoruba leaders under the Ilana Oodua group stood for him and got him legal representation until he secured his freedom in Benin Republic in 2023.

Weekend Trust reports that Igboho had instituted a case against the DSS over the July 2021 raid and in September 2021, an Oyo State High Court declared the raid illegal, awarding N20 billion in damages to Igboho.

However, in August 2022, the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, overturned the N20 billion judgment, ruling that the lower court misapplied legal principles and that the damages were excessive. At the moment the case is still in the Supreme Court.

Since the July 2021 raid, Igboho only stepped into Nigeria in February, 2024, to attend the burial of his mother, after which he returned to his exile home in Germany, as he was still on the wanted list. Since then not much was heard of him.

However, about two weeks ago, Igboho arrived Nigeria, triumphantly, as a free man, singing and dancing as he was welcomed by his people from far and near. Igboho’s return to Nigeria was reportedly made possible by the ‘pardon’ granted to him by the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

His return on January 26 was reportedly facilitated by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja alongside some other traditional rulers as well as the South-West governors.

It would be recalled that Ladoja was in Abuja penultimate week where he chaired the Daily Trust annual dialogue. The following day after the dialogue, he was sighted at the presidential villa alongside some Obas, meeting with the president. Weekend Trust could not confirm what was discussed, but some sources said Igboho’s issue was part of the things that took the Olubadan to the Villa.

Weekend Trust further gathered that discussions over Sunday Igboho’s pardon started shortly after President Tinubu came to power in 2023. The pressure came from some Yoruba leaders who impressed on the president the imperative of pardoning Igboho. To them, Igboho was fighting a just cause, protecting his people against marauders, a source said.

A prominent Yoruba leader who spoke with our correspondent in confidence said, “The president, being a Yoruba man, was made to understand the imperative of granting pardon to Igboho. Many Yoruba leaders believe Igboho was merely being persecuted for standing for his people. The atrocities committed by the criminal elements among the Fulanis cannot be ignored. This was what Sunday Igboho fought for and he became an enemy of the state under late President Muhammadu Buhari.”

While there has been no official statement from the Presidency over the purported pardon, Igboho himself confirmed the pardon, saying his name had been removed from the wanted list.

Igboho arrived from neighboring Cotonou, Benin Republic, to a rousing welcome at his residence in Soka, Ibadan, Oyo State, where supporters, Muslim clerics and well-wishers gathered to receive him. Special prayers were offered for his safe return, as well as for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and traditional rulers credited with intervening in his case.

Speaking shortly after his arrival, Igboho recounted what he described as years of hardship under the previous administration. He said he was declared wanted, denied a Nigerian passport and had his bank accounts frozen “despite court rulings in his favour”.

From his home, Igboho proceeded to the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, where he paid homage and was again welcomed by a crowd of supporters. The monarch expressed joy at his return and offered prayers for his wellbeing.

Responding, Igboho said, “I’m grateful to God Almighty for this day. I’m also grateful to our president. Baba Olubadan Ladoja was instrumental to my final freedom. Since I was in Cotonou, he has been checking on me like a son. Baba Adebanjo also helped me. Baba Ladoja spoke with elders across Yoruba land on my behalf.”

He disclosed that the monarch contacted him penultimate Friday, while he was still in Cotonou and asked him to prepare to return home after discussions with the president.

“He told me to pack my belongings. He said he had spoken with the president and begged for my freedom, and that I had been cleared. I never thought I would come back home. I’m very happy and grateful to President Tinubu,” Igboho added.

It’s miscarriage of justice – Miyetti Allah cattle breeders

While Igboho was largely hailed by his people in Yoruba land as a freedom fighter who deserves commendation and not condemnation, he remains a villain to the community of Fulani herders in the South-West over what they believe is his “hatred” for the Fulani people. They recalled the tension generated in the South-West over the quit notice to Fulani in Yorubaland and his decision to make good his threat.

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) condemned the presidential pardon, describing it as an act of “tribal justice” and a grave miscarriage of justice.

In a statement issued by its South-West Zone, MACBAN said the pardon had reopened painful memories for Fulani communities in Oyo State.

The statement, signed by the South-West Coordinator of MACBAN, Alhaji Mumini Muhammad, said the decision has been received with “deep anger, pain, and total rejection” by Fulani herders and pastoralists across the region.

According to the association, Sunday Igboho was directly linked to a series of attacks on Fulani settlements in Oyo State and neighbouring areas, resulting in killings, arson, destruction of homes, cattle theft, and the forced displacement of families who had lived peacefully in the area for decades.

These acts did not occur in secrecy,” the statement said. “They were carried out openly and publicly, and many of our members witnessed them personally. Evidence of these crimes exists.”

MACBAN identified the January 22, 2021, attack in Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government Area, as one of the most traumatic incidents, noting that Fulani lives were lost, homes were razed, and entire families were permanently displaced.

Describing the pardon as a “slap in the face” of Fulani victims, including widows, orphans, and displaced families, MACBAN warned that the decision undermines public trust, weakens national unity, and fuels ethnic resentment. “The Fulani community is not asking for revenge,” the statement stressed. “We are demanding justice.”

MACBAN called on the federal government to formally acknowledge the alleged crimes committed against Fulani communities in Oyo State, compensate affected families, publicly explain the basis for Igboho’s pardon, and give clear assurances that Nigeria does not operate a “tribal justice system”.

During an interaction with Weekend Trust, the Sarkin Fulani, Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadir, in his Ilorin residence where he relocated after the invasion, said he would never forget that incident.

Speaking with our correspondent, Abdulkadir reiterated his innocence in the killings and attacks in Igangan, saying many crimes committed by the indigenes were attributed to Fulani.

“We were like endangered species and we had no one to fight for us,” he said, adding, “Now pardoning Sunday Igboho means we have completely lost out. No compensation for the huge losses we have incurred. Like I told you, I lost everything I have labored for decades.”

Weekend Trust reports that Sarkin Saliu as he is fondly called had lived in Igangan for over 40 years where he settled and raised his family. Many generations of Fulani settlers had lived peacefully with the host communities not only in Oyo State but entire Yorubaland and the South.

However, the struggle for land by pastoralists has pitched them against their settlers who are mostly farmers. This gave birth to farmer-herders’ confrontation which created tension within communities.

In Igangan in particular, the confrontation between the farmers and herders was profound. The Sarkin Fulani had to settle various disputes in the community. He also had to pay compensation to farmers who brought genuine complaints to him over destruction of farmlands, it was gathered.

The Sarkin Fulani added, “We heard of Sunday Igboho’s pardon. We are not happy about it and up till now we have not received any compensation from anywhere. This is nothing but selective justice. We lost our people, we lost properties and valuables worth hundreds of millions yet the mastermind of the attacks on our communities has been left off the hook. This is nothing but injustice against the Fulani and we call on the president who we know to be a statesman to address this injustice”.

One Yoruba activist who spoke in a chat with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said, “I am also not happy the way the case was handled. I was one of the people confronting him when he instigated the people against the Fulani. I was totally against him.”

But a Yoruba group leader, Alhaji Gbemisola Obadeyi, in a chat with our correspondent welcomed the pardon, describing it as “a courageous and thoughtful decision” which “reflects true leadership, national responsibility, and a deep commitment to justice, reconciliation, and peacebuilding” on the part of the president.

Obadeyi, who is a Board of Trustees member & National Director of Orientation and Reconciliation, Yoruba Welfare Group (YWG) said, “Recent claims that the pardon is sectional or unfair are misleading and unjust.

“Such narratives fail to recognise the fundamental difference between socio-cultural advocacy and criminal violence. Chief Sunday Igboho is not a terrorist, insurgent, or armed rebel. He is a cultural activist who emerged during a period of intense insecurity in parts of the South-Western states, where farmers, rural communities, and travellers were subjected to persistent attacks by criminal elements.

“While his methods may have generated controversy, his agitation was rooted in the protection of lives, farmlands, and ancestral heritage not in taking up arms against the Nigerian state or orchestrating violence against innocent citizens.

“It is, therefore, wrong and dangerous to compare Chief Igboho with individuals or groups who have taken up arms against the government, killed innocent people, promoted ethnic or religious extremism, or deliberately portrayed Nigeria negatively on the international stage,” he said.

‘Fulani deserve compensation’

Speaking with our correspondent, an activist, Comrade Toyin Raheem, said Sunday Igboho became a hero because the authorities failed to act on the insecurity in parts of the state. He stated that while the pardon is a welcome development for healing and reconciliation, the Fulani people who were displaced from their settlement deserve to be compensated. He urged the federal government to make details of his pardon public, saying people deserve the right to know the details of the pardon.

“What we are saying is that while I thank the president for pardoning Sunday Igboho, everything must be made public. If we don’t have the details, you begin to speculate over what transpired. For the Fulani people, they deserve compensation. The insecurity happened because the police also failed to detect crimes and apprehend criminals, so you cannot say all Fulani people are criminals. Therefore, they deserve to be compensated. Also, Sunday Igboho too should be compensated for the raid on his house.

“Justice can only be done when it is fair to all and sundry. That is my position. The Olubadan has done well,” he said. (Weekend Trust)