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What Sunday Igboho Told Beninese Court ― Lawyer

“He stressed that he spent less than one day in Cotonou before attempting to travel to Germany.”

Ibrahim Salami, one of the Cotonou, Benin Republic-based lawyers of popular Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo well known as Sunday Igboho, has revealed what the activist told the Cour De’appal De Cotonou, Benin Republic, during his trial on Monday.

EKO HOT BLOG had earlier reported that Sunday Igboho was returned to police custody after court sessions which lasted for more than eight hours on Monday.

It was gathered that the lawyers of Igboho battled to secure bail for the Yoruba activist but the court ordered his return to the cell after the marathon sessions which ended around 11:20 pm (Nigerian time).

However, the lawyer of the Yoruba Nation agitator has revealed what transpired at the Benin Republic court on Monday where Sunday Igboho appeared before three judges.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Salami revealed that Igboho told the court that he fled Nigeria to avoid being killed.

“While defending himself on the criminal allegations put on his head by Nigeria, Igboho told the judges that he had never been tried for any crime in his life,” the lawyer added.

According to the lawyer, Igboho said he had neither been invited to any police station nor any formal charges brought against him as a result of his agitation for the separation of the Yoruba Nation from Nigeria.

Igboho was said to have explained that he was only trying to free ‘his people’ from the atrocities of killer-herdsmen, which made him incur the wrath of some powerful individuals in the government.

The lawyer further said, “When the judge asked him how and when he entered the Benin Republic, who housed him and who took him to the airport, Igboho told the court that his coming to the Benin Republic was to flee from his traducers who wanted to kill him in Nigeria.

“He stressed that he spent less than one day in Cotonou before attempting to travel to Germany.

“What amazed me is the fact that the judge was explicit that Igboho’s continued detention is not as a result of his issues with Nigeria, that he is being sent to prison because of infractions committed here in the Benin Republic,” the lawyer added.

Salami further revealed that Sunday Igboho was remanded by the Beninese court to allow investigation into how he came into Cotonou and the reason behind his move.

The lawyer, however, said that no date had been fixed for the continuation of Igboho’s trial because the authorities would need time to investigate how the Yoruba Nation agitator entered the Benin Republic.

When asked why the trial was held behind closed doors, Salami said it is when investigations are concluded that the judgment can be read in the open court.

The lawyer further disclosed that Sunday Igboho showed discomfort as a result of injuries he suffered when the Department of State Services (DSS) raided his residence on July 1, 2021.

He added that as a result of the bruises, the popular rights activist was allowed to sit throughout Monday’s court sessions instead of standing before the judges.

Salami said as a prison inmate, Igboho will be entitled to medical services if there is a need, unlike when he was in police custody.

Salami added the Yoruba Nation agitator’s trial, which began from an extradition request from the Nigerian authorities, is now centred solely on whether or not he broke the laws of the Benin Republic, saying, “The primary task now is to establish whether the embattled activist entered Cotonou through legal or illegal routes, and what his mission was meant to achieve.”

The lawyer disclosed that the Federal Government of Nigeria had not filed any papers against Sunday Igboho.

It would be recalled that the 48-year-old activist and his wife were arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, the Benin Republic while attempting to flee to Germany.

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