The Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has clarified that his campaign for improved security in the South-West is not directed at any ethnic group but rather at criminal actors involved in kidnapping, killings, banditry and other violent crimes.
In a statement released on Monday through his spokesperson, Olayomi Koiki, Igboho urged Nigerians across religious, political and ethnic lines to work with the government and security agencies to eliminate criminality nationwide.
According to The Punch, this comes after the Concerned Fulani People of Nigeria, a Fulani socio-cultural group, on Sunday issued a statement through its convener, Ibrahim Barkindo Chubado, calling on President Bola Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to caution Igboho over what it described as inflammatory comments allegedly directed at Fulani communities in Oyo following the reported abduction of a woman and her children.
Responding on Monday, Igboho dismissed the group’s position, describing it as unfounded and a misrepresentation of the insecurity challenges facing parts of Yorubaland.
The statement read in part, “It is obvious that since my agitation for improved security in South-West and other parts of the country, I have never declared war against any ethnic group but have consistently voiced my position against criminal elements responsible for kidnapping, vicious killings, rape and violent attacks across Yoruba communities.
“The call by this faceless CFPN is myopic, uninformed and ridiculous. Our concern and primary focus have always been the protection of innocent lives and the preservation of peace, security and justice.
“We will never advocate hatred against any ethnic group. Our position has always been very clear: criminals should be identified, arrested and prosecuted by the law enforcement agencies regardless of their ethnic, religious and political inclinations because crime has no colour or race.
“It is absolutely wrong and misleading to portray our reaction to security breaches in South-West as ethnic profiling when the rights to life, freedom, and economic livelihoods of our people are being threatened by mindless hoodlums who are obsessed with gruesome killings and kidnapping of innocent people in rural communities.
“I want to specifically commend the noble efforts of the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, the Director-General of the Department of State Service and heads of other security agencies for their sustained onslaught against criminals in the South-West and other parts of the nation.
“While we would not hesitate to collaborate with security agencies in order to strengthen peace and safety of our communities in the South-West, the collective task of ensuring a secure environment in our society should not be left to the government and stakeholders in the security sector,” the statement explained.
It further stressed that calls for Igboho to be cautioned should instead be redirected toward supporting stronger security operations aimed at dismantling criminal networks and protecting victims of violent crime.
