By Observers Times
A Yoruba Nation advocate, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has declared that he remains on the Nigerian government’s wanted list, countering claims that he is enjoying freedom of movement under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Igboho issued the clarification in response to a recent statement credited to Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed, a former director in the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of President Tinubu, who alleged preferential treatment by the Federal Government in the handling of secessionist figures.
Naja’atu, who resigned from the PCC in January 2023 and has since criticised Tinubu’s leadership style, had queried why Igboho has remained “free” while Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), continues to be held in detention since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021.
In a statement,Igboho described Naja’atu’s assertions as “unfounded and ridiculous,” accusing her of dragging his name into “propaganda and campaign of calumny” aimed at undermining Tinubu’s administration.
He stated: “I’m still on the wanted list of the Federal Government despite the Presidency headed by President Bola Tinubu. Currently I’m using my German passport to travel in Europe and other continents and cannot enter the shores of Nigeria, having been declared wanted by security agencies under the leadership of former despotic President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Igboho added that the declaration against him remains in force. “The order declaring me wanted still remains subsisting under the present government,” he said.
He traced his ordeal to his vocal opposition to the wave of attacks linked to herders in the South West between 2020 and 2021, particularly in agrarian communities. “What was my offence? Because I voiced my objection to the incessant killings of farmers, maiming and sexual violation of women perpetrated by Fulani herders against South West communities,” he said.
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On 1 July 2021, the Department of State Services (DSS), in a joint midnight operation with the Nigerian Army, raided the Ibadan residence of Sunday Igboho. According to a statement issued by the DSS, the operation targeted alleged stockpiling of arms by the Yoruba Nation activist. The raid resulted in the death of two of his aides and the arrest of 13 others, sparking widespread criticism from rights groups and lawmakers. The DSS publicly paraded the arrested individuals, while Igboho went into hiding.
Following the operation, Igboho fled Nigeria and was arrested on 19 July 2021 at Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while attempting to travel to Germany. His arrest was facilitated by Beninese authorities acting on Nigeria’s request.
After over two years of legal battles and diplomatic negotiations, Igboho was released from custody in Benin Republic in October 2023 and has since relocated to Germany. However, he maintains that he cannot return to Nigeria as he remains on the Federal Government’s wanted list.
The self-determination campaigner also raised concerns over ethnic imbalance in Nigeria’s political leadership since independence in 1960.
“Since Nigeria attained independence and advent of democratic rule, out of 16 presidents who governed the nation, only two are from the Yoruba ethnic group former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the incumbent President Bola Tinubu,” he said.
In challenging Naja’atu’s position, Igboho pointed to her silence during the height of insecurity under former President Buhari, particularly in relation to the activities of bandits, herders, and Boko Haram insurgents.
“Where was Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed when Boko Haram terrorists and herders were wreaking havoc on Nigerians in the North and South West through mindless killings?” Igboho asked.
He also referenced Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi’s controversial engagements with bandits, saying: “During this period, an Islamic cleric, Sheik Abubakar Gumi, who was the negotiator between the Federal Government and terrorist groups made millions of dollars.”
He argued that the Tinubu administration’s refusal to rely on such controversial figures has triggered “spurious claims and mischievous propaganda by this woman.”
According to the 2023 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Nigeria was ranked as the 8th most impacted country by terrorism globally.
The report noted a significant decline in terrorism-related deaths in Nigeria, with fatalities dropping by almost a quarter, from 497 in 2021 to 385 in 2022, marking the lowest level since 2011. This decrease was attributed to a reduction in attacks by groups such as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram
However, subsequent reports indicate a reversal of this trend. In 2023, Nigeria recorded 533 terrorism-related deaths, and the number increased to 565 in 2024, leading to Nigeria’s rise to the 6th position in the 2025 GTI rankings. This uptick in fatalities was linked to increased activities by terrorist groups, including IS-Sahel, which expanded operations into Nigeria and carried out multiple attacks .
Observers Times gathered that despite political transitions, security alerts issued by Nigerian agencies since 2021 still list Igboho as a person of interest. There has been no formal revocation of the DSS notice against him.
Igboho’s statement calls attention to persistent concerns over equal treatment of activists and separatists in Nigeria’s justice system. It also revives public debate over the political framing of dissent, ethnic relations in governance, and the legacy of state responses to secessionist agitation.
While Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team continues to challenge his prolonged detention at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Sunday Igboho remains in self-imposed exile, maintaining his stance that his actions were born out of defence for the Yoruba people against unchecked violence.
Meanwhile, the Presidency and Nigeria’s security agencies are yet to respond to either Naja’atu Mohammed’s comments or Igboho’s rebuttal as at the time of filing this report.
