Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday ‘Igboho’ Adeyemo is a “militia” working for President Bola Tinubu’s government, warning that his “open threats” could escalate tensions in Nigeria.

Mr Abubakar’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, made the allegation while speaking to Peoples Gazette on Monday. This followed Mr Adeyemo’s threat to frustrate the supporters of Mr Abubakar and his co-presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, who are planning to campaign for them in the Yoruba region for the forthcoming election.

“There is no doubt about Igboho being a militia of Tinubu,” said Mr Ibe. “He cannot be working on his own. Who is he? He has the state’s support. He has the support of Tinubu. Tinubu should shut down this nonsense.”

He called on the State Security Service (SSS) to arrest and investigate Mr Adeyemo for threatening opposition candidates not to campaign in South-West Nigeria.

“This is symptomatic of the Tinubu administration. It is from his template. We saw the weaponisation of tribalism in 2023. We saw the weaponisation of political oro and all of that.

“The assurance I want to give Sunday Igboho, who is obviously an agent working on behalf of Tinubu, is that that era is gone. Atiku Abubakar will campaign in the 36 states and 774 local governments as long as they are within the territory of Nigeria,” Mr Ibe said.

He added, “We also call on Tinubu to rein in these people—Igboho and others—as his spokesperson Daniel Bwala had spoken about that Tinubu has militias. Maybe Bwala was speaking about Igboho and his likes. It is important that Tinubu rein in these elements, anti-democratic forces.”

Mr Ibe urged the Tinubu administration and the international community to monitor developments in Nigeria, including “the desperation of Tinubu for a second term he has not earned.”

“Nigeria, as things stand now, is already in a dire situation. Tinubu working with people like Igboho cannot afford to pour fuel on the already raging fire in Nigeria—the state of hopelessness and insecurity is pervasive in the country,” he warned.

Mr Abubakar’s spokesperson said the 2027 presidential election is between Mr Tinubu and Nigerians, adding, “Tinubu is a dictator. No doubt about it. The APC has a template to destroy opposition. These are all the signs.”

“Our expectation is that the SSS and other security agencies should immediately arrest Sunday Igboho and investigate him. So his threat should not be the case of an owl crying in the night and the baby dying in the morning. It must be investigated,” he added.

Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga could not be immediately reached for comments on Monday. However, Mr Bwala, another aide, denied having said that the president was raising militias.

“Even back then, working with Atiku, I never said Tinubu is raising ethnic militia. Dayo Israel, who was the APC youth leader, created what he called the Jagaban Army. I was in the opposition and wanted to spin it against them by suggesting that the youth leader is creating the Jagaban Army. Could it be that he was creating thugs? That was why we said he is creating a militia,” Mr Bwala explained.

He dissociated the presidency from Mr Adeyemo’s statement, stating, “Sunday Igboho has no connection with Asiwaju. He was never in Asiwaju’s campaign. He has never been to the villa.”

Mr Bwala added that, while pursuing the agenda of the group he represents, there were so many times Mr Adeyemo spoke against Mr Tinubu.

“So everybody knows he has no relationship with President Bola Tinubu. That he made a political statement has nothing to do with having the backing of the president,” the presidential aide said.