TheCable

The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has cautioned the federal government against clamping down on agitators for self-determination.

Speaking against the backdrop of the arrest of Sunday Adeyemo, a Yoruba nation agitator better known as Sunday Igboho, Yinka Oguntimehin, OPC publicity secretary, warned that the federal government’s approach could lead to a national crisis.

Igboho was arrested with his wife at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport, Cotonou, Benin Republic, on Monday. He was arraigned before a judge at Cour De’appal De Cotonou on Thursday.

The Nigerian government is seeking the extradition of the Yoruba nation agitator after he escaped from his Ibadan home when operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) raided his house on July 1.

Oguntimehin noted that the federal government’s approach in handling Igboho’s case and the use of force on agitators “has only justified federal government’s lack of respect for human rights and intolerance to the views of others.”

“Unfolding events have shown that there are lapses in the way the FG handles cases of self-determination agitators like Sunday Igboho, and I will like to state it clearly that the FG must desist from clamping down on self-determination agitators because such move can only fuel national crisis,” he said.

“The FG has been silent on the extradition order because it might trigger more crisis. You cannot treat Igboho the Nnamdi Kanu way, it would not work, so I am appealing to the FG to learn from history and ensure that the fundamental human rights of the citizens are protected in such a way that we can begin to appreciate the fact that we truly follow the tenets of democracy.”

Commenting on the allegations against Igboho, Oguntimehin said the federal government came up with trumped-up charges against him and that the allegations are not sufficient to warrant his extradition.

“What federal government came up with were mere allegations against Ighoho such as trafficking in arms and inciting violence that could result in the social disturbance without evidence and the Government of Benin Republic had considered all that to be untenable and insufficient to warrant extradition,” he added.

He urged well-meaning Nigerians not to neglect Igboho as the youth leader “had been peaceful in his self-determination approach and he deserves to enjoy his liberty wherever he is in the world”.