Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, on Tuesday intervened to stop the arrest of Isese advocate, Abdulazeez Adegbola, popularly called Tani Olohun, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The incident reportedly occurred at Tani Olohun’s residence, where a group of armed men attempted to take him away.
Videos shared on Tani Olohun’s Facebook page showed a confrontation between the men and residents, with the latter resisting the attempt to arrest the traditional religion advocate.
In one of the videos, an officer was seen holding Tani Olohun to the ground while residents gathered around them. Some residents reportedly accused the men of being kidnappers after questioning their identities.
One of the officers displayed an identity card to establish that they were members of the police, but some residents remained unconvinced.
Another video showed men dressed in civilian clothes and carrying firearms attempting to move Tani Olohun away in a vehicle.
A resident claimed that the vehicle had no number plate and appealed to others to intervene.
It was gathered that members of Tani Olohun’s family contacted Igboho for assistance following the development. The Yoruba activist subsequently arrived at the scene with some supporters.
In one of the videos recorded after Igboho’s arrival, he was seen speaking with an alleged senior police officer on the telephone while surrounded by residents and his supporters.
Igboho reportedly told the official that tension was mounting in the area and that residents were resisting the removal of Tani Olohun.
He later handed the telephone to one of the officers at the request of the official on the other end of the call.
The attempted arrest comes amid a criminal case instituted against Tani Olohun by the Ilorin Heritage Preservation Foundation over a social media video.
The foundation had accused him of sharing a video on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok which allegedly mocked an Islamic prayer and contained material capable of provoking religious tension.
It alleged that the video generated hostile comments against Muslims and amounted to incitement of religious disturbance, contempt of religious creed and injurious falsehood.
The case is currently before a court in Ilorin, Kwara State.
However, it was unclear as of press time whether the officers involved in Tuesday’s operation were acting on a valid warrant, a fresh court order or another lawful directive.
When contacted, the Oyo State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, confirmed awareness of the attempted arrest but declined to comment further.
“I don’t have a comment. A press release is coming soon,” he told our correspondent in a telephone conversation.
A subsequent video posted on Tani Olohun’s social media page showed him after the confrontation.
He appeared to have sustained injuries and was wearing torn clothes while sitting on the ground.
Tani Olohun thanked Nigerians, particularly Yoruba people who responded to calls for help, as well as the Oyo and Kwara commissioners of police, the Olubadan and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
He also expressed appreciation to Igboho, describing him as a “true son of the Yoruba nation” for intervening in the incident.
Tani Olohun is a prominent advocate of Isese, the indigenous Yoruba belief system, and has been involved in controversies surrounding traditional religion, religious freedom and the preservation of Yoruba cultural practices.