Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that the Yoruba Nation agitation led by Sunday Igboho was secretly bankrolled by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a strategic move to secure his political future.

Appearing as a guest on the popular podcast The Honest Bunch, Sowore claimed that the alliance was born out of a rift between Tinubu and the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. According to him, the move was designed to intimidate Northern political interests who were initially hesitant to accept Tinubu’s candidacy.

Sowore alleged that when it became clear that the “Buhari people” in the North were not prepared to back Tinubu, the then-APC stalwart utilized the secessionist movement to demonstrate his capacity to disrupt national unity.

“The Sunday Igboho struggle you are seeing was funded by Tinubu,” Sowore asserted. “He looked at it and said, ‘I helped you guys to get to power, you guys don’t want my candidacy? I’m going to tell the Yoruba people to leave.'”

The activist further claimed that the 2021 raid on Sunday Igboho’s Ibadan residence by Department of State Services (DSS) operatives was a direct response from the Buhari presidency. He alleged that the federal government sent a special force from Abuja specifically to “kill” Igboho to send a message to his backers.

“They wanted to kill him so that Tinubu would know they were not playing,” Sowore stated, adding that Igboho suffered significant injuries during his narrow escape and subsequent flight to the Benin Republic.

According to Sowore, once the Buhari administration’s security intelligence confirmed Tinubu’s alleged involvement, both sides reached a tense standoff. He noted that Tinubu eventually “retreated” because he had already achieved his primary goal: forcing the North to recognize his influence over the South West.

Sowore concluded by noting that for Northern political stakeholders, the issue of “national unity” is a non-negotiable red line, which Tinubu successfully exploited to negotiate his path to the presidency.

As of the time of this report, the Presidency has not issued an official reaction to these heavy allegations.