Following last weekend’s invasion of Oyo State Government House by Yoruba Nation agitators, governors in the South-West geopolitical zone have made moves to quell any insurrection in the name of agitation, Daily Trust checks have shown.
The agitators had invaded the Government House following the declaration made by Ms. Modupe Abiola Onitiri, a wife of late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election.
Ms. Onitiri who is outside Nigeria had in a viral video pronounced herself the President of a new Sovereign State known as Yoruba Nation.
Prominent Yoruba nation agitators, Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho and Chief Banji Akintoye had disowned her while calling for her arrest.
But some close aides of Abiola who spoke with our correspondent yesterday said Ms. Onitiri was not one of the officially recognised wives of Abiola.
The South-West states are however not taking the threat lightly as they have warned against any form of agitation or attempted overthrow of democratically elected governors in the region.
The Oyo State government has described the attempt of some Yoruba Nation activists to take over the state secretariat as a treasonable felony.
The state Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade made this known while addressing journalists on Monday.
He said that investigation is still ongoing while affirming that there were no death casualties during the gun exchange with the agitators.
“Attempting to barge into the hallowed chambers of legislature and take it over with an arsenal of seven pump action submachine guns, over 700 live cartridges, is clearly an act of terrorism,” he said.
The commissioner added that sponsors of Saturday’s invasion of the governor’s office and the State House of Assembly have succeeded in leading themselves into serious trouble.
In a related development, the state police command paraded 21 suspected Yoruba Nation agitators while a joint security force clamped down on the group’s hideout at Sanyo.
In his address, the state Commissioner of Police, CP. Adebola Hamzat confirmed the arrest of the 21 suspected agitators while warning others who have a criminal mindset to leave the state.
Earlier, a joint security operation had succeeded in busting a hideout of the attackers. This led to the recovery of a cache of weapons.
Upon receiving information about the whereabouts of the agitators, the Oluyole Security Surveillance Team (OSST), led by Comrade Idowu alerted other security agencies, including the Sanyo police station.
Acting on the provided intelligence, the police organised and apprehended the suspects as they attempted to transport their weaponry from Sanyo to an undisclosed location.
Also, this operation led to the discovery of another hideout of the agitators in the Shagari area. All seized weapons and other items are being held at the police station for further investigation.
Similarly, the Ondo State government has vowed to deal decisively with anyone planning to cause unrest in the state under the guise of agitating for the Yoruba nation.
The Special Adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Information, Olugbenga Omole, explained that the government will not support any action that can truncate the peace and harmony currently being enjoyed by the residents of the state.
Omole added that the government will also go against anyone or people working against the efforts of the federal government.
“We will arrest them here in Ondo. We will not support anybody that is against the federal government,” he said.
In Ogun State, reports states that there was no panic as residents went about their normal activities on Monday.
In Abeokuta, the state capital, it was also observed that there were no unusual security measures.
The police spokesman, Omolola Odutola, on Monday said, “They are armed robbers, even the leader of the so called Yoruba Nation has come out to disown them.
“It has some political coloration, because I don’t see how some people will just wake up one morning and start carrying knives and start disturbing the peace of a state. The ones in Oyo State, were all arrested.”
She added, “There is no cause for panic. We don’t know them, anybody that is arrested will be charged with sedition or treasonable felony because you can’t just come up with a country within a country.
“They are armed robbers who want to go and attack innocent people and give it a political coloration. We will deal with them squarely.”
