Advocate for the Yoruba Nation, Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho, has formally presented a petition to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, urging him to take the secessionist movement in Nigeria into account.
While the details of the petition are classified, sources indicate that it centers around the ongoing “Yoruba Nation agitation.”
Reports suggest that Igboho submitted the petition on Saturday on behalf of Professor Adebanji Akintoye, who leads the Yoruba Nation movement.
Accompanying Igboho were several notable figures, including Diaspora Youth Leader Prophet Ologunoluwa, Vice President of Ifeladun Apapo Fatai Ogunribido, General Secretary of Yoruba World Media Alhaja Adeyeye, and member of the Yoruba Nation Movement Paul Odebiyi.
The movement is calling for urgent intervention from the UK Prime Minister and his administration regarding their pursuit of establishing a nation primarily governed by the indigenous Yoruba people.
It is worth noting that Yoruba historian Banji Akintoye has previously accused the Nigerian government of attempting to persuade Sunday Igboho to abandon his advocacy for the Yoruba Nation.
Akintoye recounted an incident during Igboho’s challenges in the Benin Republic, where former Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Tukur Buratai allegedly tried to persuade him while he was imprisoned by offering financial incentives in exchange for renouncing his activism.
Despite the pressure, Igboho reportedly declined to sign the document presented by Buratai, which was subsequently taken back by him.
He remarked, “Igboho has gained significant support from the people due to his integrity. They attempted to bribe him; how many young individuals would resist such temptation?”
Akintoye continued, detailing Buratai’s visit to Igboho in prison, where he was promised substantial financial rewards if he would simply agree to abandon the struggle for the Yoruba Nation.