Attributes the modern Oduduwa/Yoruba Nation independence campaign to its specific organisations and figures: Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide under Banji Akintoye, and activist Sunday Igboho. Covers the April 2021 Ibadan secession declaration, the July 2021 DSS raid on Igboho's residence, his subsequent detention and March 2022 release in Benin Republic, and the movement's continued advocacy through 2025. This bundle deliberately excludes detailed narrative of specific violent incidents connected to Igboho's earlier, separate vigilante activities against banditry and farmer-herder violence, which is distinct from the independence campaign itself.
In April 2021, more than 100 self-determination groups gathered in Ibadan, where Sunday Igboho and Banji Akintoye, leader of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, declared the secession of Yoruba-populated southwestern Nigeria as the Oduduwa Republic, citing marginalisation and constitutional grievances.[1] On 1 July 2021, Nigerian state security operatives raided Igboho's Ibadan residence; he was later arrested in Benin Republic on 19 July 2021.[2] In March 2022, Beninoise authorities released Igboho on health grounds, handing him to Akintoye and barring him from leaving Benin Republic.[3] As of 2025, Igboho continued to publicly advocate for an independent Yoruba nation, now more commonly termed the "Odua Nation" by the movement.[4]
Status verified as of
No independent Oduduwa/Yoruba Nation state exists; the claimed territory remains administered as states of Nigeria. Sunday Igboho and Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide continued public advocacy for independence as of 2025, following Igboho's 2021 arrest and 2022 release in Benin Republic.[4]
History
From the April 2021 Ibadan declaration to the movement's continued 2025 advocacy.
61 words · 1 min read
· Declaration
Over 100 self-determination groups declared a Yoruba nation independent of Nigeria.
Significance here: The founding modern political declaration of the Oduduwa/Yoruba Nation independence campaign.
· Other
A state security raid on Igboho's home and his subsequent arrest in Benin Republic became a defining moment for the movement.
Significance here: The most significant confrontation between the Nigerian state and the movement's most prominent activist.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: In April 2021, more than 100 self-determination groups gathered in Ibadan, where activist Sunday Igboho and Professor Banji Akintoye, leader of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide (the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups), declared the secession of Yoruba-populated southwestern Nigeria as the Oduduwa Republic, citing marginalisation, what they characterized as Nigeria's "pseudo-federalism," and perceived flaws in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended.
Claim: On 1 July 2021, operatives of Nigeria's Department of State Services raided Sunday Igboho's residence in Ibadan, during which two of his aides were killed and twelve others arrested; Igboho subsequently fled Nigeria and was arrested on 19 July 2021 in Benin Republic while attempting to travel to Germany, alongside his wife, who was released shortly afterward. This bundle does not narrate the raid's specific circumstances or Igboho's earlier, separate vigilante activities against banditry and farmer-herder violence in detail.
Claim: In March 2022, Beninoise authorities released Sunday Igboho from detention on health grounds, after several months in custody, handing him over to Banji Akintoye and Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide deputy leader Wale Adeniran; Igboho remained barred from leaving Benin Republic at the time of his release.
Claim: As of 2025, Sunday Igboho continued to publicly state there would be "no going back" on the demand for an independent Yoruba nation, now more commonly referred to by the movement as the "Odua Nation," indicating the campaign's continuation as an active, if unresolved, political movement.