Tension erupted in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday after Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, intervened during an attempt by police officers to arrest Abdulazeez Adegbola, widely known as Tani Olohun, an advocate of the indigenous Yoruba religion, Isese.
Videos shared online showed a chaotic scene around Tani Olohun’s residence as men identified as police officers struggled to take him away while residents resisted the operation.
In one of the clips, Tani Olohun was seen pinned to the ground by an officer as bystanders shouted and questioned the identities of the men.
A resident filming the incident accused the officers of being kidnappers despite one of them reportedly displaying an identity card.
“They called themselves police officers. They are not police. They are kidnappers,” the resident was heard saying.
Another video showed armed men in civilian clothing attempting to move Tani Olohun from the area while residents raised alarm over the absence of a visible number plate on their vehicle.
The circumstances surrounding the operation immediately became contentious, with residents demanding clarity over who authorised the arrest and whether the officers were acting on a valid warrant or fresh court order.
It was learnt that members of Tani Olohun’s family contacted Sunday Igboho as the confrontation escalated.
Igboho subsequently arrived at the scene accompanied by supporters and was seen in another video speaking by telephone with a person described as a senior official.
“They want to cause trouble for you. The whole neighbourhood is blocked. They are fighting for religion, and the neighbours are not ready to release him,” Igboho said during the call.
He later handed the phone to one of the officers following a request from the person on the other end of the conversation.
The arrest attempt is understood to be connected to an ongoing criminal case involving Tani Olohun and the Ilorin Heritage Preservation Foundation.
The foundation had accused the Isese advocate of publishing a social media video which it alleged mocked an Islamic prayer and was capable of provoking religious tension.
According to the complaint, the material circulated on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok and allegedly attracted hostile reactions against Muslims.
The foundation accused Tani Olohun of offences including incitement of religious disturbance, contempt of religious creed and injurious falsehood.
The case is currently before a court in Ilorin.
However, it remained unclear on Tuesday whether the attempted arrest in Ibadan was directly based on proceedings in that matter or on a separate legal directive.
Oyo State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, confirmed awareness of the incident but declined to give immediate details.
“I don’t have a comment. A press release is coming soon,” he said.
The lack of an immediate official explanation fuelled further questions over the operation, particularly after images emerged showing Tani Olohun after he had been released from the attempted arrest.
In a video posted later, the Isese advocate was seen sitting on the ground in torn clothing and appearing battered.
He described the encounter as an unlawful attempt to take him away and thanked those he said intervened on his behalf.
“This morning, as I stepped out of my house, I encountered them. They attempted to kidnap me and took me away unlawfully. They restrained me,” he said.
Tani Olohun expressed gratitude to several individuals and institutions, including the Kwara and Oyo state police commissioners, the Olubadan, Governor Seyi Makinde and Sunday Igboho.
“My profound gratitude goes to Governor Seyi Makinde. Most importantly, above all, to Chief Sunday Igboho, I thank you deeply. You are a true son of the Yoruba nation,” he said.
His claim that the officers attempted to kidnap him remains his account of the incident, pending a full statement from the police.
The episode is likely to reignite debate over religious freedom, lawful police procedure and the growing tensions surrounding disputes between adherents of indigenous Yoruba religion and other faith communities.
Tani Olohun has previously been at the centre of controversies involving Isese, religious expression and the preservation of Yoruba traditional practices.
With the police promising an official statement, attention will now turn to whether the officers were acting under a valid judicial order and why an attempted arrest in a sensitive religious case escalated into a public confrontation involving residents and one of Yoruba Nation agitation’s most prominent figures.
