Politics

Police Tying Sunday Igboho’s Legs And Hands Like Animal –Counsel

Published

3 years ago

July 21, 2021

Police is allegedly tying the legs and hands of arrested Chief Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a Sunday Igboho like an animal, in Cotonou, Benin Republic, thereby subjecting him to inhuman treatment.

His legal representative, Chief Yomi Alliyu, who issued a statement on Tuesday, claimed that Igboho’s ordeal is being following “order from above”.

“Just about three minutes ago, I got a call from a reliable source from the authorities in the Republic of Benin that Sunday Igboho has been put in a very dehumanising condition in a police cell in Cotonou.

“The source told me that they are under instruction by an order from the above that Igboho should be chained like an animal waiting to be slaughtered. He told me that Igboho was tightly chained to the floor and he is in serious pains.

“While I was talking to the source by telephone, I can hear our client crying and asking that the chains be removed and that he is in pains. But I can hear one officer telling him that they cannot remove the chains as they are acting on instruction,” he said in the statement.

Asserting that the extradition order being sought by the Nigerian authorities may not likely sail through, given the status of Igboho as a political offender, Aliyu added:

“I know that our client, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho Oosa), would be taken to a court in Cotonou, the capital of the Republic of Benin, tomorrow [today].

“The Nigerian authorities and security operatives that arrested him would be approaching the court for an extradition order to bring Sunday Igboho back to Nigeria.

“But it is not likely that the extradition order being sought for would sail through. This is because of the status of our client as a political offender who enjoys immunity against extradition. Like I said in a press release earlier today, even his arrest by security operatives was against the political nature of his offence.

“There is an existing ex- tradition treaty between four West African countries of Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Benin Republic, which grants Igboho immunity from being extradited from the Republic of Benin.

“The Extradition Treaty of 1984 between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Republic of Benin excluded political fugitives. It also states that where the fugitive will not get justice because of discrimination and/ or undue delay in prosecution, the host country should not release the fugitive.

“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,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the lawyer had issued a statement expressing shock that the Nigerian government had eventually arrested Sunday Igboho, notwithstanding the political nature of his offence.

He also referred to what he said the DSS had earlier said that they refrained from arresting him so as not to over-heat the polity of southwestern Nigeria.

“It is advisable for the INTERPOL and Benin Republic to be aware of the savagery acts committed in our client’s house in the wee hours of July 1, 2021; between 1.00 a.m. and 3.00 a.m.; shooting their way through and killing two people in the process and maliciously damaging his properties in the course of that illegal invasion.

“Though the invading DSS officers did not state any reason for their invasion to our client, before or during invasion, they later paraded 13 people and ammunition which our client denied being his, as he is a peaceful campaigner for self-determination, and it is on good record that the guns and ammunition displayed were the same displayed in 2013 in another instance.

“This could be seen on 2013 Facebook though DSS has dismissed this on their website. But what they cannot deny is that when they were leaving our client’s house, they left with two corpses and people arrested and nothing more except two guns, belonging to the police escorts of Mr Adisa Saheed Olalekan”, he said