Igboho sues DSS, seeks N500m damages over attack on his residence

Self-acclaimed Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, through his legal counsel, Chief Yomi Alliyu SAN, has sued the Department of State Service (DSS) for attacking his residence and damaging his properties.

He also alleged that the DSS operatives raided his home not to arrest him but with the intent of killing him.

In a statement on Monday, Igboho’s counsel said the invasion was illegal and unconstitutional, noting that the accusations leveled against his client were false.

Also, he asked the Federal Government to probe the invasion, sanction the DSS operatives, and free all the people arrested, while he demanded the payment of N500 million to Igboho as compensation for the damages done to his exotic cars, including a Mercedes Benz G-Class and 2019 Lexus car, among others.

The statement read: “We are counsel to Chief Sunday Adeyemo (otherwise known as Sunday Igboho Oosa) and we have his standing instructions to defend and act as his counsel in all situations we deem appropriate, especially where his fundamental rights as a citizen of Nigeria is violated or threatened, as done on Thursday, 1 July 2021.

“Every Nigerian, albeit the whole world, is aware that in his open crusade for the establishment of Oodua Republic, our client has always preached peace and warned his followers never to have recourse to violence, saying that ‘it is God and alale’ that will fight for the Yoruba Nation.

“We can boldly say that, as people who followed his campaign, but not necessarily supporting dismemberment of Nigeria, no casualty has ever occurred wherever such rallies were carried out. This must have been done in more than 20 Yoruba towns and cities, as of date.

“It must be reiterated, and with emphasis that it is the right of a group of homogeneous and/or indigenous people in a federation to ask for self-determination, following the rules of international law and UNO Charter.

“We were reliably informed that the DSS and other security forces invaded the residence of our client in wee hours of the day (between 1.00hr and 4.30hrs).

“There is nowhere in the civilised world that a citizen, who had no prior invitation by security agent or resisting arrest, will be so invaded with his rights to dignity of human persons, ownership of property and sanctity of life trampled upon during the invasion.

“No demand to enter was made but rather, they shot their way into the house, allegedly killing seven people, though DSS spokesman admitted killing two people which involved an old imam that used to lead Muslim occupants in prayers and observing TAHJUD at the time of the barbaric raid.

“A lady among the invaders was allegedly shouting, ‘if you get him, gun him down.’ There and then our client knew that the mission was to get rid of him and not to arrest him.

“This belief becomes more realistic because the CCTV recorder was put off and taken away so that the carnage will not be shown to members of the public. Our client then knew that he was to be taking dead or alive as allegedly stated by the lady among the raiders.

“It should be stated that without any resistance or shooting at the security operatives, they started shooting from the gate, ensuring that the building was made uninhabitable. Also, all the expensive vehicles in our client’s house were shot at and destroyed.”

Furthermore, the statement read, “The rampaging operatives were disappointed that they could allegedly not find a single gun or ammunition in our client’s house, hence they arrested two police escorts of Mr. Igboho’s guests.

“(They) added their (the two police escorts) guns to those harvested from their armoury to make members of the public believe that our client keeps militia, or as stated by them, he is about waging war on Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Soyinka wants Nigerian govt to apologise to Igboho, says DSS invasion of his home ‘stinks’

“Will this be with his mere amulets? People who know our client for over 20 years will testify that Igboho Oosa does not carry a gun on his person

“It is elementary law that whenever a search warrant is executed on a house the house owner must first search the persons sent to execute same and also sign the inventory of what was recovered in executing the warrant.

“This explains why the DSS invaded the house in the night, shooting everything at sight, killing and maiming the occupants to plant their illegal guns on our client.

“We have also been reliably informed that those arrested were being tortured to incriminate our client that guns and ammunition were recovered from his house.

“Sunday Igboho knew that he would be arrested one day hence retaining our services. He could not be that daft to keep incriminating articles in his house.

“Our client’s house is a five-bedroom duplex with five chalets of two and three bedrooms. These were damaged with operatives allegedly arguing on whether to burn down the edifice as done to his former palatial house. The lady officer allegedly put her foot down against arson.”

Also, Alliyu claimed that €1000, N2 million, expensive jewellery worth millions, travel documents, amulets, iPhone 12 belonging to Igboho, phones of about 15 others living in the house, including those killed by the raiders and other belongings of his wives yet to be identified were carted away by the DSS.

“More importantly, the DSS and other operatives that raided the house said they came to arrest Sunday Igboho but ended up arresting innocent people instead of him.

“Apart from being a serious violation of these peoples’ constitutional rights, it is an assault on Section 7 of ACJA and decisions of our courts in that regard.

“We, hereby, demand that the Federal Government orders an investigation into the actions of the various security operatives, led by DSS, that raided Chief Adeyemo’s house to sanction them and release all the innocent people arrested and compensate the families of those murdered.

“Our client should also be paid N500million as reparation for damage to his exotic cars that include Mercedes Benz G-Class and 2019 Lexus Car. We also demand a public apology.

“Most importantly, trampling of our client’s fundamental rights, including tagging him as criminal by exhibiting DSS guns as his should stop forthwith,” the statement added.

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