Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho), standing trial in the Benin Republic has told the court that he fled Nigeria to avoid being killed.
The Yoruba Nation agitator, who was arrested on July 19 with his wife while attempting to travel to Germany, has been charged with illegal entry into the Benin Republic.
He is also explaining his mission in Cotonou, the Benin Republic capital.
The court ruled that he should be relocated to prison from police custody.
Igboho’s lawyer, David Ibrahim Salami, told The Nation in Cotonou that Igboho showed discomfort as a result of bruises he suffered when the Department of State Services (DSS) attacked his residence on July 1.
He said as a result, Igboho was allowed to sit throughout Monday’s court sessions instead of standing before the judges.
As a prison inmate, he will be entitled to medical services if there is a need, unlike when he was in police custody.
Salami said Igboho’s trial, which began from an extradition request from the Nigerian authorities, is now centred solely on whether or not he broke the laws of the Benin Republic.
The primary task now is to establish whether the embattled activist entered Cotonou through legal or illegal routes, and what his mission was meant to achieve, the lawyer said.
Salami said the Nigerian authority had not filed any papers against Igboho.
“We have also not seen any written complaints from Nigeria being placed before the court. It is a case between the Benin Republic and Sunday Igboho – nothing more,” he explained.
Explaining why Monday’s proceeding was prolonged, Salami said it needed to be so because the trial is being handled by three judges whose functions and powers are different but complementary: prosecution judge, investigative judge, and judge of liberty or detention.
He said the matter before the prosecution judge office did not commence until 2 pm. Reason: the enormity of tasks the prosecutor’s office needed to handle. The trial then moved to the investigative judge by 3 pm, lasting till around 6pm.
It was the judge of liberty or detention, who took over from his investigative colleague at night that ruled that more time is needed for the court to establish the true reasons behind Igboho’s coming to the Benin Republic
He said Benin Republic law allows Igboho to be admitted to bail pending the outcome of the investigation.
On why the trial is behind the curtain, he added that it is when investigations are concluded that the judgment can be read in the open court.
