A prominent Yoruba rights advocate faces imminent threat to his life should he return to Nigeria, following years of persecution tied to his outspoken support for the Yoruba Nation movement and his vocal condemnation of violence by suspected Fulani militia groups.
Babajide Fadairo, a native of Ogun State who spent much of his life in Ibadan, Oyo State, became a target after launching a grassroots campaign to raise awareness of the growing insecurity across southwestern Nigeria — particularly after a personal tragedy in early 2021, when his cousin, Olatunde Balogun, was killed in a brutal attack on a farm allegedly carried out by Fulani herders.
“His death shattered me,” Fadairo said. “But more than that, it exposed the helplessness many Yoruba families face in rural communities — and the silence from those meant to protect us.”
Galvanized by grief, Fadairo began using digital platforms to advocate for Yoruba self-determination and to denounce the government’s failure to curb militia attacks. His posts, which gained significant traction, drew swift and ominous reactions. He began receiving threatening messages, many of which hinted at state surveillance and implied consequences should he return to Nigeria.
“Family members called me in panic,” he recounted. “They told me my name had come up in local security meetings. They warned me that I had been flagged — not for a crime, but for speaking out.”
The warnings became more urgent after the July 2021 raid by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the Ibadan home of Yoruba Nation figurehead Sunday Igboho. That operation resulted in multiple deaths, injuries, and detentions. Fadairo says that moment cemented his fear: the government was not only refusing to address insecurity but was actively punishing those who did.
He also pointed to the case of Ekiti-based traditionalist and Yoruba supporter Ifasooto, who was detained without charge, as further proof that peaceful activism was being criminalized.
“The crackdown is real,” he said. “It’s not just high-profile figures. Anyone seen as aligned with the Yoruba Nation — even online — is now considered a threat.”
“I’ve lost family. I’ve lost my home. If I go back, I lose my life,” he said.
Though currently residing abroad, Fadairo says the threats persist. He continues to receive anonymous messages, some from Nigerian phone numbers, warning him not to return and accusing him of treason. He believes these messages reflect both political targeting and ethnic profiling.
International human rights observers have corroborated the growing repression in Nigeria, particularly against those advocating for ethnic autonomy or challenging the state’s security narrative. Reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented extrajudicial detentions, enforced disappearances, and excessive use of force against civilian activists.
Legal analysts note that under international norms, individuals facing credible threats to life due to political beliefs or affiliations with marginalized movements are considered at high risk, particularly when the state itself is implicated in the targeting or fails to intervene.
Babajide Fadairo, once a quiet advocate from southwestern Nigeria, now finds himself a symbol of a broader crisis — one where activism is met with intimidation, and where seeking justice can put a target on one’s back.
“What I’ve done is speak up,” he said. “And in Nigeria today, that alone can cost you your life.”
At the time of publication, no official statement has been released by the Nigerian authorities in response to these allegations. Calls for accountability and reform, meanwhile, continue to grow both at home and abroad.
