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‘They Killed a Cat Thinking It Was Me’ — Sunday Igboho Reveals How He Escaped 2021 DSS Raid
Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has narrated what he described as the dramatic circumstances surrounding his escape during the Department of State Services (DSS) raid on his Ibadan residence in July 2021.
Speaking on Monday while hosting a delegation of Muslim clerics at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, Igboho claimed he remained inside his house throughout the operation despite the security operatives’ efforts to locate and arrest him.
According to the activist, the DSS operatives stormed his residence around 1:30 a.m., firing gunshots after hearing his voice before allegedly using explosives to force their way into the building.
SEE MORE: “I Know the Politicians Behind Oyo School Kidnap, I’ll Expose Them All” — Sunday Igboho
“When they came around 1:30 am, I heard a sound and was inquiring who it was; they started shooting at the room. They heard my voice. When they finally scaled the fence in, they planted a dynamite on the burglary, and everything completely fell apart. That was where they entered,” he said.
Igboho said he briefly considered surrendering but decided against it because he believed his life was in danger.
“One mind was telling me to surrender to them; the other was telling me not to surrender, else I would be killed.”
He further alleged that the operatives pointed a gun at his personal assistant, identified as Dudu, while attempting to force him to open a door.
Addressing widespread rumours that he transformed into a cat to evade arrest, Igboho dismissed the claims, insisting he never left the house during the operation.
“I didn’t turn into a cat. They even killed it, thinking it was me. They even brought a fake herbalist who was just making an incantation and performing a ritual. I was in the house watching them, but they didn’t see me.”
The Yoruba Nation campaigner also alleged that a partially blind relative was shot after security operatives mistakenly believed he intended to attack them.
Igboho attributed his survival to divine intervention, saying prayers earlier offered by Muslim clerics helped avert the danger.
“So it was God that saved me after a prayer that some Muslim clerics did in my house, forestalling a bad vision they claimed to have seen on me.”
The raid on Igboho’s Soka residence in Ibadan took place on July 1, 2021, following months of heightened tension between the activist and the Federal Government under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
At the time, the DSS announced that it recovered firearms and ammunition from the residence and arrested 13 of Igboho’s associates.
The agency also stated that two of his aides were killed during what it described as an exchange of gunfire.
Following the operation, Igboho fled Nigeria and was later arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while attempting to travel to Germany.
He was subsequently released by Beninese authorities after months of legal proceedings and has remained in self-imposed exile in the Benin Republic, where he continues to campaign for the creation of a sovereign Yoruba Nation.
Students of DS Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori, Ogun State, on Tuesday shut down the Abeokuta-Lagos Expressway in protest following the killing of one of their colleagues during a robbery attack on a student community behind the institution.
The protest, which caused heavy traffic congestion along the busy highway, erupted after suspected armed robbers invaded Eruku Community, where many students reside, in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the Rector of the polytechnic, Dr Goke Rafiu, the attackers raided about 15 houses in the community, killing one student and leaving three others injured.
“What happened was that some armed robbers raided about 15 houses in Eruku where some of our students are living. The community is actually behind the school, and during the attack, one of the students was killed while about three others were injured,” Rafiu said.
He disclosed that one of the injured students had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, for treatment.
“We are currently in the community with police officers and members of the institution’s management team, including the Chairman of the Governing Council, Ambassador Toye Okanlawon, to chart the way forward,” he added.
The rector appealed to the protesting students to remain calm, assuring them that the Ogun State Government, security agencies and community leaders were working to improve security around the institution.
Following the tragic incident, the institution postponed examinations scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, and Wednesday, July 29, to honour the deceased student and allow affected students time to recover emotionally.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of the Timetable, Examination and Academic Calendar Committee, Gideon Adekunle, the institution said: “Following the unfortunate incident that resulted in the loss of a student and injuries to others during a robbery attack in Eruku, the examinations scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, and Wednesday, July 29, have been postponed.
“This is to ensure students in the affected area regain their composure and mental stability, and most importantly, to honour the deceased.
“Examinations will resume on Friday, July 30, 2026, as scheduled. A new timetable for the postponed examinations will be communicated in due course.”
The Students’ Union Government President, Comrade Owoigbe Blessing, said the robbers struck around midnight, killing a final-year Higher National Diploma (HND II) student.
“One final-year HND II student was killed, another female student was injured after her ear was severed, while another student who was shot has been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre,” she said.
She called on the Ogun State Government to strengthen security around the institution, lamenting that robbery attacks had become a recurring problem in Eruku Community.
“There is no adequate security. If there was, this would not have happened. This is not the first, second or even third time such an incident has occurred in Eruku,” she said.
Also reacting, the Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in Ogun State, Comrade Olabode Faruq Success, condemned the rising insecurity around tertiary institutions in the state and called for urgent intervention to protect students.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has described Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s reconciliation with his political camp as a correction of past mistakes, insisting the governor had no better alternative than returning to the political family that brought him to power.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday after inspecting ongoing road projects across the Federal Capital Territory, Wike dismissed claims that Fubara’s return was an act of seeking forgiveness following their prolonged political feud.
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According to the former Rivers State governor, politics is not about sin but about recognising mistakes and making the right decisions.
“I don’t know what you mean by sin. In politics, there is no sin. If someone realises they made a mistake and decides to correct it, there is nothing wrong with that. Politics is not a sin. What matters is recognising that you were on the wrong path and making the right decision,” Wike said.
Wike recalled that he had predicted the reconciliation before Fubara publicly announced it, maintaining that the governor had no choice but to return to the political structure that produced him.
“I said during my last media chat that he had no other choice but to return to the same political family that produced him. I have now been informed that he has made that declaration publicly, and we welcome him. Our doors are open. Everyone is welcome for us to work together. There is no better alternative. We will all work together to move the state forward,” he stated.
The FCT minister added that Fubara’s public declaration of reconciliation would further strengthen efforts to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ahead of the 2027 general election.
“He has publicly stated that he has returned to where he started, and we receive him with an open mind. There is nothing to hide. We will all work together to ensure that we deliver the votes President Tinubu needs for his re-election,” Wike added.
The minister spoke while inspecting major infrastructure projects in the FCT, including the ISEX Road Corridor and the nearly completed Apo-Karshi Road.
Expressing satisfaction with the pace of work, Wike said the Tinubu administration remains committed to completing inherited projects rather than abandoning them, noting that continuity in governance is essential for development.
He explained that the ISEX Road project, awarded in 2014 but left incomplete by previous administrations, is expected to be partially completed before the end of the year if the necessary funds are released.
Wike stressed that completing ongoing infrastructure projects would protect public investments, improve connectivity and accelerate economic growth across the Federal Capital Territory.
Human rights activist and former African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has withdrawn his request to subpoena the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, in his ongoing criminal defamation trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The unexpected move came after the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), challenged the subpoena, arguing that the DSS chief was not the appropriate person to tender the document sought by the defence.
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During Tuesday’s proceedings, Sowore informed the court that he would no longer insist on Ajayi’s appearance, explaining that the evidence he intended to obtain from the DSS Director-General could instead be produced by another official of the agency.
Fagbemi urged the court to set aside the subpoena, arguing that the document in question—a letter asking Sowore to delete a Facebook post in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”—was neither authored nor signed by Ajayi.
The Attorney General further submitted that the letter had already been admitted into evidence twice by the court.
He also noted that its author, Uwen Davis, had testified before the court on July 22 on behalf of the defence, making the appearance of the DSS Director-General unnecessary.
Earlier in the proceedings, Sowore’s counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), questioned the Attorney General’s direct involvement in the case.
He argued that another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Akinlolu Kehinde, was already representing the Federal Government and maintained that although the Attorney General had the constitutional authority to appear in any matter, the defence ought to have been notified before he assumed responsibility for the prosecution.
The court had earlier confirmed that the subpoena had been served on the DSS Director of Legal Services after the registrar informed Justice Mohammed Umar that service had been effected.
However, the Federal Government maintained that Ajayi was unaware of the service and asked the court to vacate the subpoena while directing the defence to continue with its case.
Following the arguments, Sowore withdrew the request, acknowledging that the evidence he sought could be obtained through another DSS official.
Justice Mohammed Umar subsequently adjourned the matter until August 3 for the continuation of the defence in the criminal defamation trial.
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