Secession : Police Arrest 11 Persons Agitating For Yoruba Nation

From Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta

Operatives of the Ogun state Police Command on Saturday, arrested 11 members of the pro-Yoruba Nation agitators who in their hundreds poured into major streets of Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, in defiance of the police order, banning all forms of mass rally or processions in the state.

The agitators, under the aegis of “Ìlàna Omo Oòdùà”, took their awareness procession from the popular Kuto garage in Abeokuta where they had converged, for an onward movement to the palace of the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo.

They had planned to use that strategic location to address their supporters but a combined security operatives in the state took over and positioned themselves on the streets of Abeokuta and foiled their bid to make Ake the rally ground.

Although the determined ethnic agitators in procession coursed their way through Sapon Square, also passed through the Ake palace street, defying the presence of heavy security operatives and headed towards the Adatan area of the metropolis.

The Daily Crucible gathered that the peaceful procession later morphed into violence at the Asero garage along the Abeokuta – Ibadan road when news filtered to the organizers that security operatives had arrested 25 of their members while passing through the Ake Palace.

In anger, the agitators started vandalizing billboards already mounted by politicians preparing for the forthcoming local government elections in the state and other public properties suspected to belong to governments.

Some shop owners and market men and women along the path of the procession made hurried closure of their trading activities to avert looting of wares.

And as the procession got to the State  Police Command Headquarters at Eleweran and threatened to surge in, armed security operatives battled to ward them off, dispersing them with teargas and successfully repelled their incursion bid.

In the ensuing confusion and commotion, shop owners in Eleweeran community, particularly traders at the Hausa pepper, onion and yam market in the area to hurriedly close shops and scampered for safety.

 

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi said 11 agitators were arrested at the Ake Palace area  but later released “after they had been screened and profiled.”

Oyeyemi explained that the arrest of 11 was predicated on an earlier rumour that they planned to attack the traditional ruler of the town, Oba Gbadebo whenever the procession rally got to Ake in Abeokuta.

“But despite the release if their colleagues, the agitators still threatened to attack the police headquarters in Eleweeran, Abeokuta. We had no option than to disperse them with minimum force and that was why they were teargassed,” Abimbola said.

However, the Media and Communication Secretary of Ilana Awa Omo Oodua, Maxwell Adeleye said 25 of their members were arrested by the police but released afterwards.

“I can confirm that we have rescued all the arrested comrades”.

“As the policemen saw the surging crowd of Yoruba men and women moving towards Eleweran Police Headquarters in drove, they quickly released our comrades protesting for Yoruba Self-Determination. 

“It is very important to thank Police Officers who are Yoruba Indigenes for refusing to let the Hausa-Fulani Officers among them torture our patriots,” he said.