There are solid signs that the Republic of Benin will make the result of an asylum application by Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, known this week.
It was gathered that the bail application for Igboho was postponed by his legal counselors in light of his clinical report and the normal result of his asylum application among others.
It was reported that Igboho’s lawyers were considering different options to get him out of a detention facility in Cotonou without being extradited to Nigeria.
Igboho and his wife were arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin on their way to Germany. Ropo was later released.
This was after DSS raided his house in Ibadan and declared him wanted for stockpiling arms.
When he was re-arraigned last Monday, fresh charges were leveled against the 48-year-old activist, who was also returned to a new detention facility.
The Coordinating counsel for Igboho, Olasupo Ojo, said he was yet to get any official report on his asylum.
When asked if Igboho had been granted asylum, he said, “I have not got any official report to that.”
“Yes, we are expecting feedback this week,” he added when asked if Igboho’s asylum application feedback may be out this week.
Also, the spokesperson for Ilana Omo Oduduwa, Maxwell Adeleye, said the organization is expecting a positive response.
“We have submitted an application and we are hoping to get a positive response before the end of the week,” he said.
Ibrahim Salami, one of the Cotonou, Benin Republic-based lawyers of Igboho, had explained that charges against Igboho would be neutralized if the activist is granted asylum.
Salami said this while explaining that Igboho was not arrested for possessing a Benin Republic passport despite not being a citizen.
The lawyer had said, “When he left Nigeria, he took the backdoor into Benin. It was at the airport that security operatives stopped him that he was on the watchlist. He didn’t go against any law in the Benin Republic. They didn’t find any Beninese passport on him. He had a Nigerian passport with a German residency card. He needed no visa at that point.
“When we looked into the case, we realized that the Nigerian government had not filed a case for extradition. They only claimed that he is wanted in Nigeria for criminal offenses. We argue that he was arrested because of Nigeria’s request, and there is no proof to show that he is a criminal.
Ada Peter
