Fresh Revelation: Sunday Igboho Responds To Claims He Escaped DSS Raid By Turning Into A Cat

Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has recounted his version of events surrounding the July 2021 raid on his Ibadan residence by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), claiming he narrowly escaped arrest despite an extensive search of the property.

Speaking on Monday while receiving a delegation of Muslim clerics at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, Igboho alleged that security operatives searched the house but failed to find him.

He also dismissed longstanding rumours that he transformed into a cat to evade arrest, insisting that the operatives mistakenly killed a cat during the operation after believing it was him.

According to Igboho, DSS operatives arrived at his residence around 1:30 a.m. and opened fire after hearing his voice from inside the building.

“They came around 1:30 in the morning. When I heard movement and asked who was there, they immediately started shooting towards my room because they had recognised my voice,” he said.

The activist alleged that the operatives eventually forced their way into the compound by using explosives to destroy parts of the building’s security barriers.

“They climbed over the fence, planted explosives on the burglary proof and blew it open before gaining access to the house,” he claimed.

Igboho said he had been asleep at the time of the raid and quickly dressed after realising security operatives had surrounded the residence.

“I was naked at first, but after hearing them, I quickly put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. One part of me wanted to surrender, while another warned that if I did, I might not come out alive,” he said.

He further claimed that he later confronted the operatives by demanding to know why they had invaded his home.

“I eventually shouted, asking them what I had done and why they had come after me. They kept firing at close range even though they had not actually seen me,” he alleged.

Personal Assistant Allegedly Threatened

Igboho also alleged that the operatives threatened his personal assistant, identified as Dudu, by pointing a gun at his head and ordering him to force open a door.

“When they entered the house, they held a gun to Dudu’s head and ordered him to call on me to open the door. He kept pleading with me not to shoot while knocking. That made me suspicious before they eventually forced the door open,” he claimed.

He dismissed reports circulated after the incident suggesting that he sustained gunshot wounds while escaping.

“Some people even claimed I escaped with my intestines hanging out after being shot. That was completely false,” he said.

Addressing rumours that he escaped by transforming into a cat, Igboho described the claim as untrue.

“I never turned into a cat. They actually killed a cat because they thought it was me,” he said.

He also alleged that the security team brought in a man he described as a fake herbalist to perform rituals during the operation.

“They even brought someone claiming to be a herbalist who was chanting incantations and performing rituals. I was still inside the house watching everything, yet they never saw me,” he alleged.

Igboho further claimed that one of his partially sighted relatives was shot after security personnel allegedly mistook him for an attacker.

“There was a relative of mine who was partially blind. When he came outside, they shot him because they thought he wanted to attack them,” he claimed.

He also alleged that the operatives removed the bodies of those killed during the raid.

According to the activist, his escape was a result of divine intervention and prayers previously offered by Muslim clerics.

“It was God who saved me. Before the incident, some Muslim clerics came to my house after saying they had received a troubling revelation about me, and they prayed for my protection,” he said.

DSS Account of the Raid

Operatives of the Department of State Services raided Igboho’s Soka residence in Ibadan in the early hours of July 1, 2021, following heightened tensions between the activist and the Federal Government.

Before the operation, Igboho had attracted national attention after issuing an ultimatum to some Fulani residents in parts of Oyo State, accusing criminal elements among them of involvement in kidnapping and other violent crimes. He later intensified his campaign for the creation of an independent Yoruba Nation.

Following the raid, the DSS announced that firearms and ammunition were recovered from the residence and confirmed the arrest of 13 of Igboho’s associates.

The agency also stated that two of his aides were killed during what it described as an exchange of gunfire with security operatives.

Igboho subsequently fled Nigeria but was later arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while reportedly attempting to travel to Germany. After several months of legal proceedings, he was released by Beninese authorities and has since continued his advocacy for the Yoruba Nation movement.