Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has appealed to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, to intercede with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his behalf to clear his name from the Federal Government’s wanted list and unfreeze his bank accounts.
Igboho, who was declared wanted in July 2021 by the Department of State Services (DSS) on allegations of stockpiling arms and ammunition, made the plea on Saturday during a visit to the Ooni at his Ile Oodua Palace in Ile-Ife.
Arriving with a large entourage of associates and supporters, the activist expressed regret over his past public criticisms of the monarch, tendering an open apology for what he described as “verbal attacks” against the revered ruler.
“I want you to forgive and forget whatever wrong I have done to you. You are my father, and you cannot abandon me. By the warm reception you have given me today, I know you have already forgiven me,” Igboho said in Yoruba.
He continued, “I am here to further seek your help. I am still on the Federal Government wanted list, and my bank accounts remain frozen. I want you to plead with President Tinubu to help clear my name and lift the embargo on my accounts. You are the only one who can help me at this point.”
Igboho also used the occasion to comment on the worsening security situation in the South-West, pledging his readiness to mobilize his supporters to flush out kidnappers and criminal elements hiding in forests across the region.
“You recently organized a security summit, which I joined virtually from Germany. You even honored me during the event, and I was overwhelmed with emotions because this was the same Ooni I once insulted. I see you as Oodua’s reincarnate. If you send us to the forests, we will flush out those criminals. Yorubaland cannot be enslaved,” he declared.
Responding, the Ooni of Ife praised Igboho for his renewed commitment to the Yoruba cause and assured him of support. The monarch said he bore no grudges over the activist’s past remarks, emphasizing his role as a father to all Yoruba people.
“Some of you insulted me in the past, but I never took it to heart. I only laughed because I knew you were concerned. God has preserved Sunday Igboho’s life despite his ordeals, and I am thankful for that. You are brave, and Yorubaland is proud of you. You will not die young,” Oba Ogunwusi said.
The monarch further promised to make efforts toward securing Igboho’s removal from the wanted list and lifting the restrictions on his financial accounts.
“We will ensure your name is removed from the wanted list. What you are fighting for is not for yourself but for the entire Yorubaland. I urge you to embrace peace, because only peace can bring development. Fighting will not lead us anywhere,” the Ooni concluded.
