Headlines
I Didn’t Flee Nigeria, I’m in Benin for Igboho – Banji Akintoye
Prof Banji Akintoye, Yoruba Nation activist, says he is not intimidated by the reported plot of the Federal Government to arrest him.
The leader of the self-determination group, Ilana Omo Oodua, said this in a statement on Sunday titled, ‘I am in Republic of Benin with Sunday Igboho, not on the run – Akintoye.’
The 86-year-old professor of history was reacting to an exclusive report by Sunday PUNCH that the ex-Senate member in the Second Republic left Nigeria about three months ago when he uncovered plot by the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to arrest him.
Akintoye and embattled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho have been seen holding press conferences and rallies to champion the cause for the secession of Yoruba Nation.
Igboho, now in a detention facility in Cotonou, had been declared wanted by the Department of State Services for allegedly stockpiling arms to destabilise Nigeria under the pretext of Yoruba Nation, an allegation he denied.
This was after the secret police raided Igboho’s Ibadan around 1am on July 1, 2021, killed two of his associates and arrested 12.
Igboho had gone underground and escaped to Benin Republic but was apprehended on July 19, 2021 around 8pm while he tried to board a flight to Germany with his wife, Ropo.
In a statement on Sunday, Akintoye said he didn’t run away from Nigeria but had been in Benin Republic to ensure the release of Igboho.
The statement was signed by his Communications Manager, Maxwell Adeleye.
According to the statement, Akintoye said just like Ighoho, he has committed no offense against Nigerian laws to warrant being arrested, intimidated or harassed.
Adeleye quoted Akintoye as saying, “Myself, the President-General and Professor Wale Adeniran (Chairman) of Ilana Omo Oodua, are currently in the Republic of Benin as reported, but not on the run.
“We are here to supervise and coordinate, by all legal and other means, the struggle for the release of our son and patriot, Sunday Adeyemo, detained by the government.
“By demanding peaceful self-determination for the Yoruba Nation, I am not breaking any law, since self-determination is recognised by the International and Nigerian laws to be an inalienable right of every nationality, large or small, in the world.
“I have earned a solid reputation as a highly respectable advocate of a peaceful self-determination struggle. I have even written a book on the subject which is already being used as a manual by Yoruba self-determination advocates and organisations.
“Irrespective of what the Nigerian Government may be planning against me, I want to say without any fear or intimidation that I will be returning to Nigeria immediately Ighoho is released from the custody. I can’t be intimidated because I’ve not committed any offense, just like Sunday Igboho.”
The Punch
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
