One week after Yoruba Nation activist Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, launched a mission to rescue kidnapped victims in Igboho, Oyo State, fresh accounts have emerged over the circumstances surrounding his intervention.
According to The Nation, Igboho issued a two-hour ultimatum demanding the release of victims allegedly abducted in nearby Igbope before leading more than 40 men, supported by local hunters and vigilantes, into the Old Oyo National Park. The rescue effort reportedly faced setbacks after the kidnappers repeatedly moved the victims, while police and local authorities maintained the captives had not been released despite contrary reports online.
An indigene identified as Oyebisi disputed claims that Igboho acted on the invitation of a traditional ruler.
“I am speaking from a position of knowledge: there was no such thing as a royal invitation. Igboho was not invited by any traditional ruler,” he said, adding that the activist had entered the forest a day before a meeting between some Fulani leaders and a traditional ruler.
Oyebisi also claimed there were sensitive details surrounding the meeting that could not yet be disclosed and alleged that Yoruba heritage sites within the Old Oyo National Park had been neglected and left vulnerable to destruction and criminal activities.
