Former President Olusegun Obasanjo travelled to Benin Republic in the first week of August to intervene for Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a Sunday Igboho according to a report by The Cable.
The ex-president who was reported to have travelled to Tanzania on August 1, rerouted to Benin concealing the purpose of his visit as being to condole with Nicephore Soglo who recently lost his wife – Roseline Soglo.
Soglo was president of Benin Republic from 1991 to 1996.
According to The Cable the former Beninese president and Obasanjo have maintained a warm relationship over the years.
Soglo is one of the African leaders who intervened at the time the Abacha regime arrested and jailed Obasanjo in 1995.
“Former President Obasanjo travelled to Zanzibar on August 1. Perhaps to conceal his trip; he rerouted to Benin Republic,” one of the sources said.
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“He was to condole with former President Soglo who recently lost his wife.”
Another source who was also privy to Obasanjo’s trip said: “He also met with Patrice Talon. The purpose of the meeting was to seek soft-landing for Sunday Igboho.
“He’s asking the Beninese authorities to grant the separatist leader asylum, and not to return him to Nigeria.
“The former president intervened on the request of some south-west leaders.”
The Cable claimed the former head of state returned to Nigeria by road through Idiroko land border in Ogun state.
NewsWireNGR recalls Sunday Igboho was placed on stop list by the Federal Government. Few days later, Igboho was arrested by International Criminal Police in Benin Republic.
A source privy to his departure from Nigeria said he had perfected plans to secretly escape from Nigeria through Cotonou and was heading to Germany.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, earlier noted that people are ” working behind the scenes” concerning the arrest and trial of Sunday Igboho in the Francophone nation.
