Benin Republic court declines extradition of Sunday Igboho to Nigeria; orders he remains in prison

After a 13-hour hearing, Cour De’Appel De Cotonou ordered that Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, be kept in prison custody pending further investigation. The hearing ended around 11:20 pm on Monday, July 26, and Igboho was returned to his cell. 

 The court, however, declined the extradition of Igboho to Nigeria. The court, which was expected to start hearing the case at 10:00am, barred reporters and supporters of Igboho who besieged the premises. 

The hearing eventually commenced at about 5:00pm and it was heard behind closed doors as the court limited attendance to lawyers, Igboho’s wife Ropo, and a few others. 

 Igboho and his wife, Ropo, were arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on their way to Germany.

 They were arraigned last Thursday, July 22, and the Beninese court adjourned the case till Monday, July 26. Ropo, who is a German citizen was set free by the court on July 22 while the Yoruba Nation agitator was remanded in the custody of Brigade Criminelle in Cotonou.

 The government of Nigeria sought Igboho's extradition to Nigeria after accusing him of trafficking in arms, inciting violence to disrupt public peace, and agitating for secession. 

 However, the Beninese court declined the extradition of Igboho to Nigeria.