Sunday Adeyemo popularly called Sunday Igboho reacted to the early morning inferno that razed his property located in the Soka area of Oyo State, saying he was happy no life was lost during the incident.
Sunday Igboho was quoted by Peoples Gazette as saying that he was not in a hurry to blame any individual or group for the fire that gutted his property on Tuesday morning.
Igboho adds that he would allow security authorities to conduct investigation into the incident, and apprehend suspected culprits.
“I cannot blame anyone right now for the attack, not even Fulani people,” he said by telephone hours after the attack. “We have to thank God that nobody was killed, it is more important.”
Igboho’s house was razed by suspected arsonists earlier in the day.
The true cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However a source said the hoodlums shot around the area, a situation which lasted for about an hour.
According to him, the hoodlums came around 2a.m and left around past 3 am.
It was not immediately clear those responsible for the attack, which could potentially escalate ongoing tension around Fulani herders in southern Nigeria.
A police spokesman in Oyo said he was not aware of the fire.
The activist has been at the centre of a controversial directive for Fulani herdsmen to vacate vast lands in Oyo State. His action was condemned by President Muhammadu Buhari, who ordered police to use lethal force against him and his followers if necessary.
Igboho, who is the Akoni Oodua of Yoruba land, specifically asked herdsmen in Ibarapa Local Government Area of the State to leave within seven days.
At the expiration of the ultimatum last week, he and his followers had stormed the Fulani settlement in Igangan to eject Seriki Fulani, Salihu Abdukadir, and herdsmen accused of perpetrating crimes ranging from kidnappings, killings, rape to invasion of farmlands with their cattle.
In the settlement of the Fulanis, some houses and property were torched but Igboho had said that he was not involved in the incident, but said aggrieved youths and residents of the town should be held responsible.
