IBADAN, Nigeria — A fresh confrontation was reportedly averted in Ibadan after a team of police officers allegedly from Ilorin, Kwara State, arrived in the city in an attempt to arrest Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ activist Abdulazeez Adegbola, popularly known as Tani Ọlọhun.
According to reports circulating online, the police team reportedly moved to take Tani Ọlọhun into custody, prompting resistance from people in his neighbourhood. The situation reportedly drew the intervention of Yoruba activist Sunday Igboho, who confronted the police team and opposed the reported attempt to take Tani Ọlọhun away.
Reports further claim that members of the Ìrù Ẹkún group also arrived and helped prevent the police from carrying out the reported arrest, resulting in Tani Ọlọhun remaining in Ibadan.
The reported confrontation has attracted attention because Tani Ọlọhun was previously arrested in Ibadan by plain-clothes officers from the Kwara State Police Command and subsequently taken to Ilorin. His family said at the time that he was arrested at Sanyo Police Station after fleeing men whom he initially believed were kidnappers.
His 2023 arrest generated significant controversy, particularly among Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ practitioners, after he was charged in Kwara State with offences including criminal defamation, disturbance of public peace and alleged offences relating to religious statements.
The latest incident remains developing. Although there has been no official statement from the police confirming the reported confrontation, information circulating indicates that Sunday Igboho intervened when the Ilorin police team reportedly arrived to arrest Tani Ọlọhun. The reports further suggest that the situation drew the attention of the Olubadan of Ibadan, who was reportedly contacted as efforts were made to prevent the situation from escalating. Members of Ìrù Ẹkún, Igboho’s security network, were also reportedly present and helped resist the police attempt to take Tani Ọlọhun away. Igboho’s Ìrù Ẹkún network has been publicly described as working alongside conventional security agencies in security operations.
If confirmed, the incident could reignite broader debate over inter-state police operations, freedom of expression, the rights of Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ practitioners, and the treatment of traditionalist activists in Nigeria. It could also raise questions about the appropriate limits of intervention by community-based security groups in matters involving conventional law-enforcement agencies.
