Ibadan, April 15, 2024 – Some O’odua Nation agitators who were arrested by the police in Oyo State said they never regretted their actions as they acted within the law.
A group of people, parading themselves as agitators for the O’odua Nation, stormed the State Secretariat in Ibadan last weekend on the pretence of fighting the cause of the Yoruba Nation.
They were paraded by the police in Ibadan on Monday, where they defended their actions.
They claimed their actions could not amount to treasonable felony as they followed all due processes and legal procedures.
Alabi Ogundeji, a 55-years-old lecturer at Federal College of Education (Special), (SPED), Oyo, said he felt comfortable because he was on his right, adding that what he did was lawful under Nigeria law and international law.
“I’m part of the agitation and I can’t deny it, Yoruba as an indigenous nation is a nation on its own, we have so many nations in Nigeria and Yoruba is one of them.
“O’odua Nation leaders have taken every step and action that needs to be taken, we have embarked on a referendum which was the 500 petition signed by all Yorubas and this served as a referendum.
“Our leadership went to all Yoruba-speaking states to serve officials letters written by our leaders and we were given our own copy, after that was the proclamation, after that, declaration, occupation, and notification to the world that Yoruba is an indigenous nation.
“We were at the Secretariat to celebrate and rejoice because of the new nation that was born, it is not a new thing that Yoruba is a nation and we want to stand on our own, we have been together with Nigeria for over 100 years,” he said,
Also, a 29-year-old phone repairer, Ademola Adeniyi, said he also didn’t regret his actions.
“We all know that nothing is working in Nigeria and things are hard for everyone except those in government, we were at the secretariat waiting for our leader to come and address us.
“We believe our leader knows much about the law, so we are not afraid to join when we were called upon, our leaders told us that all challenges Yorubas are facing shall be addressed if we achieve our aim.”
Adebola Hamzat, the Oyo State Police Commissioner who paraded the suspects, described their action as criminal, unpatriotic, and a clear case of treasonable felony and terrorism which would be meted with adequate sanctions.
He said Oyo State Police Command would be unrelenting in ensuring the continued united corporate existence of Nigeria as a country. (GBN)
