By Olusegun Olanrewaju
I am fighting because Fulani bandits killed my family members, raped them and the government refused to do the right thing for us.

That is why I have come out to fight for them”, so says Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.

Igboho, who is no stranger to storms and controversy, stated this as he made reference to the attack on his house in Ibadan last Thursday by operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS).

To him, issues like the one captured in the quotation above, underscores the basis of his hard line campaign for ethnic nationalism in Yorubaland.

The secret police, had in raiding his Ibadan compound on Thursday reportedly uncovered cash,arms and ammunition as well as amulets.

The DSS said its men stormed his Soka residence to halt a planned co-ordinated pro-separatist rally slated for parts of Lagos last Saturday.

Initial reports painted an obscure picture of the events that trended on the day of ‘invasion’ which ended in the alleged abduction of Igboho’s wife and six others. They were later freed in Ekiti State, barely 24 hours after their capture.

Persona
A self-effacing man with a gift of humour, which often portrays him as a comedian, Igboho is an acclaimed Yoruba activist. But some people view him as an Ibadan-based ‘political thug’.

Igboho, who says he is on a mission to end Fulani invasion in Yorubaland, was born on October 10 in 1972, at Igboho town in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State.
Nicknamed after his hometown, Igboho later rose to fame following his role in the Modakeke-Ife communal crisis in 1997, where he played an active part.

Gunmen attack Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho’s residence

Described as a business magnate, activist and philanthropist, many believe Igboho is a voodoo patron and so has some metaphysical attributes.

Igboho received rave social media reviews last January when he gave an ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen in Ibarapa to vacate the land after the killing of his kinsman and he enforced the same. He started off as a motorcycle repairer and then ventured into automobiles.

Today, he goes about with a band and a convoy of motorcycles mounted by arms and dangerous weapons wielding ‘activists who extol his virtues.
He is often seen singing and dancing among his foot-soldiers.

A few months ago, Igboho was captured on camera half-dressed, engaging police officers and DSS operatives in near confrontation for daring to arrest him during a clash between the Yoruba and Fulani.

Suspected to be fetish, he once demonstrated on TV camera how he ‘inherited powers’ from his father.
In fact, three weeks ago, he was seen wearing a traditional jumper bearing charms and amulets.

The ‘warrior’
Some questions are trending on the social media as to whether Igboho is a rebel or a freedom fighter.

Igboho agitates for a and has been clashing violently with the Fulani community in Oyo State.
Sometime ago, he gave a seven-day ultimatum to Fulani herders in the Ibarapa axis of Oyo State to leave the area in the wake of the heightened insecurity in the state, as well as the South-West in general because of the activities of kidnappers and bandits.

He has consistently maintained that herders were responsible for the killings and kidnappings of the residents of Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa.

His ultimatum coincided with the period Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, also issued a similar ultimatum to herders in Ondo forests.

Igboho-inspired invasions have led to the clash between some Yoruba youth and Fulani in the community.
Igboho says he does not see himself as a troublemaker but a human rights activist.
“By nature, I’m not violent,’’ he said.

But with the cache of arms and ammunition allegedly uncovered in his house last week, Igboho, who has gone underground, may be in hot soup if security operatives arrest him.