Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Igboho is reportedly suffering from pains owing to injuries sustained to his hand at the point of his arrest at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
According to his lead counsel, Igboho is chained despite the pain from the injury, and wept like a child when they spoke on phone.
The counsel, Chief Yomi Alliyu ( SAN), has described the treatment the activist is subjected to while in custody of the police in Benin Republic as “inhuman”.
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“They chained him in the cell where they put him in Cotonou. There was a fracas at the airport yesterday when he was arrested. They hit him in the hand and that same hand was handcuffed, he is in pains and he was weeping like a child when I called, I heard him.”
Igboho and his wife were arrested on Monday evening while the couple were about to catch a flight to Germany before Interpol apprehended them.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Benin Republic, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), has reportedly been pushing for the extradition of Igboho and his wife to Nigeria since his arrest.
“Now, Article 20 of African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to which the four countries are signatories made agitation for self-determination a fundamental right to be protected by all countries. This made Chief Sunday Adeyemo a political offender who cannot be deported and/or extradited by the good people of the Republic of Benin for any reason,” Yomi continued.
Describing the arrest of Igboho as shocking, Yomi called on the governments of Germany, Benin Republic and the international community “to rise up and curb the impunity of the Nigerian Government by refusing any application for extradition of our Client who already has application before the International Criminal Court duly acknowledged”.
Recall that the residence of Sunday Igboho was raided by the Department of State Services in Soka on July 1, 2021, with about 12 of his aides arrested, and two others killed in a gun duel.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had since placed the Immigration and Customs Service on alert to stop Igboho from leaving the country.
