….Lawyer assures he cannot be extradited from Benin as his asylum application is still on
Contrary to earlier media reports,the battle for the release of Yoruba Nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, is still on in Benin Republic where he is being held.
This is contrary to claims in statements by different Yoruba groups in the social media that he has been released and on his way to exile.
Instead,he has been prevented from seeing his lawyer by Benin Republic authorities, sources close to him confirmed this Tuesday evening, July 20, 2021.
It will be recalled that Igboho was arrested at an airport in Cotonou on Monday night.
However ,according to trending reports, he remains in detention and has not been released and flown to Germany.
A report by the online edition of The Nation quoted Professor Wale Adeniran of Ilana Omo Odua, umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, as confirming this in a Zoom conversation organised by Heritage Multimedia TV on Tuesday evening.
Adeniran, a pioneer Commissioner of Education in Osun State and former Director of Institute of African Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, refuted the trending reports that he has been released.
He said: “I have just spoken with his lawyer. The lawyer has visited the location where he (Igboho) is been held.
“He was not allowed to see him (Igboho) but they confirmed to him that they are holding him in that location.
“He was asked to come back tomorrow (Wednesday) by 8:00am to see him.
“I asked him hope they are not going to play a funny game of secretly extraditing him, the lawyer told me it is not possible.
“We filed an application for political asylum for him over a week ago. With that in process, he cannot be legally extradited from Benin republic. I am very confident about that.
“I handle the application myself with the immigration lawyer and he assured me that since that application has been filed, he cannot be extradited. I think we should be rest assured that he will have the opportunity to see him tomorrow.”
The report quoted Adeniran as carpeting those falsely reporting that Igboho has been released.
He said: “Why should people be putting out false information that he has been released which is injurious to this struggle and to the welfare and wellbeing of Igboho?”
Adeniran disclosed four international lawyers from Benin Republic, Nigeria, France, Britain are on the case but when they saw the trending news, they had to call him to confirm.
“When the lawyers saw the false information, they relaxed, I had to tell them it is false. So can you see the damage,” he added.
Source:Nation
