The Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has said that his campaign for improved security in the South-West is directed at criminal elements and not any ethnic group.

He said that his advocacy had consistently focused on combating kidnapping, banditry, killings and other violent crimes threatening communities across the region.

Igboho, in a statement yesterday by his Spokesperson, Olayomi Koiki, urged Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, religious or political affiliations, to support governments and security agencies in tackling insecurity.

These remarks followed a call by the Concerned Fulani People of Nigeria (CFPN), which urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, to caution him over comments allegedly directed at Fulani communities in Oyo State following the reported abduction of a woman and her children.

The group, in a statement signed by its Convener, Ibrahim Barkindo Chubado, had accused Igboho of making inflammatory remarks that can heighten ethnic tension.

Igboho described the allegation as a distortion of facts and a misplaced response to the security challenges confronting parts of Yorubaland.

He also described the CFPN’s position as “myopic, uninformed and ridiculous,” insisting that the protection of lives and property remained the primary objective of his advocacy.

Igboho said that it was misleading to interpret concerns over insecurity in the South-West as ethnic profiling when residents continued to face threats from kidnappers and other violent criminals.

The activist, however, commended the efforts of security agencies in combating crime, particularly the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and other security chiefs, for what he described as their sustained offensive against criminal elements.

He, therefore, pledged continued cooperation with security agencies to strengthen peace and safety across the South-West, stressing that ensuring security should not be left to the government alone.

According to him, those calling for sanctions against him should instead support measures aimed at dismantling criminal networks and securing justice for victims of kidnapping and other violent crimes.