How I remained indoors without being seen during DSS invasion - Sunday Igboho

Yoruba Nation campaigner Sunday Igboho has detailed how he evaded arrest during a July 2021 raid on his Ibadan home by the Department of State Services (DSS). Igboho stated he remained inside the residence from the start of the operation until the DSS team departed, despite operatives searching the house for him.

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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. I was naked, but upon hearing their voice, I wore a jean and shirt. One mind was telling me to surrender to them; the other was telling me not to surrender, else I would be killed.

Speaking to Muslim clerics at his home, Igboho recounted hearing the DSS arrive around 1:30 am and the subsequent shooting at his door. He described how the operatives scaled the fence, planted dynamite on the burglary, and forced entry. Igboho claimed he was naked when he first heard them but quickly dressed, wrestling with the urge to surrender versus the fear of being killed.

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So at a point, it was looking like I was scared of them; then I immediately yelled, inquiring what had happened and why they had come to pick me up. So they started shooting at close range without even seeing me.

Igboho dismissed persistent rumors that he transformed into a cat to escape. He alleged the DSS killed a cat, believing it was him, and brought in a fake herbalist to perform rituals to find him. He stated he watched the entire operation from inside the house. The activist also mentioned that a partially blind brother who came out was shot by the DSS, who mistook him for an attacker. Igboho claimed the DSS took away corpses as proof of their raid.

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When they entered and were screaming that I opened the door, they pointed a gun at Dudu (my personal assistant)’s head. And he kept begging me not to shoot while knocking on the door. There, I suspected. They forced the door open. People were even lying that they shot me and I ran away with my intestines out.

The DSS operation on Igboho's residence occurred after months of friction between the activist and the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Igboho had previously gained national attention for issuing an ultimatum to Fulani residents in parts of Oyo State, whom he accused of kidnapping and criminal activities. He advocated for the expulsion of criminal elements among the Fulani from Yorubaland and intensified his campaign for an independent Yoruba Nation.

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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.