Sunday Adeyemo, the Yoruba Nation campaigner widely known as Sunday Igboho, has claimed that politicians are fueling a recent surge in kidnappings in Oyo State, pointing in particular to the abduction of schoolchildren in Oriire Local Government Area. He warned that if the attacks continue, he will reveal the identities of those he says are responsible.
Igboho delivered the allegations on Wednesday in a video that has since gone viral after being shared by Wisdom TV. The remarks were made while he received newly elected executives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led by Akinteye Babatunde, at his home in the Soka district of Ibadan.
In the footage, Igboho accused political figures of backing kidnappers active within the state. He also said he had tried to help with efforts to retrieve the abducted pupils, but claimed he was blocked by the Oyo State Government. He alleged that the government warned him that the kidnappers had threatened to kill the victims if he intervened.
“If I am allowed to storm their hideouts, they will run… I know the politicians behind them, and if they do not stop their evil deeds, I will name them all,” Igboho said.
He further alleged that the suspected sponsors were supplying weapons and financing the criminal groups, insisting that firm and coordinated action would drive them out of forest hideouts.
Igboho also said he had set up a security arrangement called Iru Ekun, adding that he had reportedly secured federal clearance for it. However, he claimed the state government discouraged the use of the network during any rescue attempt.
Linking the unrest to wider political developments, he suggested that some actors were working to destabilize President Bola Tinubu’s administration, drawing parallels with what he said happened under earlier governments.
“The same approach they used against Jonathan is what they are now doing to Tinubu… They want to make the country ungovernable for him,” Igboho added.
His comments arrive just days after gunmen seized dozens of pupils and teachers during assaults on schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15. The incident sparked protests across Nigeria.
