One killed as Yoruba Nation agitators, police clash in Lagos

 

We’re not involved –OPC

We’ll deal with the troublemakers – CP

IBRAHIM QUADRI, with agency reports

At least one person was reportedly killed and a policeman sustained injuries during a clash between the Yoruba Nation agitators and the police in Lagos on Monday.

It was gathered that pandemonium broke out in the Ojota area of Lagos as members of the Yoruba Nation went on the streets to protest and this later led to a clash between them and the members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC).

But OPC had distanced itself from the bloody clash.

The intervention of security operatives doused the tension as road users ran for safety along the Ikorodu road axis.

Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Command through its spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said “one person was reportedly killed, while one policeman sustained the injury during the protest by some Yoruba Nation agitators at Ojota area on Monday”.

Hundeyin, however, did not give the number of arrests, stressing that an investigation into the case had begun as peace returned to the area.

At the scene, members of the Lagos State Taskforce, OP MESA, and other police divisions were seen dispersing the crowd with tear gas.

A security vehicle belonging to a bank was burnt and three others were damaged by the protesters.

Many commuters were stranded at Ketu and Ojota as vehicles were not available, forcing them to trek.

The State Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi, has warned that any person or group of persons found disturbing the peace of the state, under whatever guise, will be decisively dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The CP said this warning has become imperative following the unprovoked and wanton armed attack on police officers who dutifully dispersed an unlawful gathering in the early hours of Monday at the Ojota area of the state.

“While the Command is not averse to people’s right to freedom of assembly and association; and expression, the Command will equally live up to its mandate of ensuring that no person or group of persons is allowed to infringe on the fundamental human rights of others, especially the rights to freedom of movement and right to dignity of human persons”, the Lagos CP stated.

CP Alabi, therefore, called on parents, guardians, and opinion/religious/community/political/traditional leaders to warn their children/wards/constituents/followers to desist from all forms of unlawful actions as the Command would not tolerate the slightest form of attack on its personnel or the good people and residents of Lagos State.

He enjoined all peace-loving Lagosians to go about their lawful duties without fear of harassment or intimidation,” as all adequate security assets have been strategically deployed to ensure their safety and security”.

Meanwhile, the President of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, has distanced the socio-cultural organization from the unrest that reportedly broke out between police and suspected Yoruba nation agitators.

Afolabi said that the organization’s initial investigations showed that no member of OPC was involved in the disturbances of Monday and none had fallen casualty by omission or commission.

He stated this while seizing the opportunity to demand that the government must ensure freedom for the 31 victims kidnapped on Sunday by Fulani bandits at the Igueben train station in Edo State.

“There is absolutely no reason to associate OPC with what happened today in Ojota, Lagos. People were simply talking from the figment of their imagination. Just like any other person, we heard the news of the disturbances through social media. When I made phone calls to my members around the axis and elsewhere, they said they knew nothing about the crisis,” he said in a statement by OPC General Secretary, Comrade Bunmi Fasehun.

Initial reports and video clips circulated on social media showed that two people might have been shot dead in the crisis that broke out reportedly between police and Yoruba separatist agitators in the Ojota axis in Kosofe Local Government Area of the state.

“Nobody should drag OPC into a matter that does not concern us and today’s problem is none of our business,” the OPC President said.

According to Afolabi, OPC stood for a peaceful resolution of all Nigeria’s questions.

“We took to the streets in 1994 to press for the exit of the military and the enthronement of democracy. We have since won democracy. Now, we believe that the resolution of national questions should come through dialogue. There is nothing that cannot be tabled for discussion,” he said, adding: “And we will be the last to cause a breakdown of law and order, especially in our home constituency anywhere in the South-West and adjoining states.”

Nevertheless, OPC sued for peace in the Ojota crisis and described the killings of peaceful protesters as needless.

It said security agencies must guarantee and respect citizens’ right to life and the right to a peaceful procession.

“We are watching the development in Edo State with keen interest. Edo has a sizable number of OPC members. And we feel it is insulting, unacceptable, and provocative for foreign elements to continue to kidnap Nigerians and make our rural areas unsafe for law-abiding citizens,” Afolabi said.

He urged the security agencies to ensure that the kidnapped victims were recovered and their abductors brought to answer for their crimes in the court of law.

According to him, it was strange that kidnappers would establish camps in the forests without the knowledge of the police and other security agents, until they strolled into town to kidnap and kill people at will.

“This is unacceptable,” he said, adding, “Security agencies must collaborate with organizations like OPC, Amotekun, Ebubeagwu, and Atanakpa to flush out these foreign criminals from the country.”

Also reacting, Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, reiterating that OPC was not involved in Yoruba Nation agitators, police clash in Lagos, stated:.‘Our position on regionalism sacrosanct’

He has dismissed as untrue the news that members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) were involved in the crisis that erupted in Ojota, Lagos on Monday.

Speaking against the backdrop of the information making the rounds that members of OPC were part of the groups that organized the rally, Iba Adams, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, said the Ojota rally came as a surprise and it kept everybody unawares, adding that no OPC member was part of the crisis.

“Let me clear the air on the crisis that had engulfed Ojota this morning. There were unconfirmed reports linking members of OPC to the mayhem. I want to state it clearly that our members were not at the scene of the incident.

“OPC is not against the liberation of the Yoruba race, however, it is a fact that the struggle for the liberation of the Yoruba race is an inalienable right of all Yoruba to champion self-determination. We are not part of the peaceful rally held in Ojota.

“Our position on regionalism is very clear. It is sacrosanct, because that is what we are seeking at the moment.

“Nigeria should be restructured to full regional autonomy, where each region will be at liberty to operate at its own pace.

“It is unfortunate that the report was done in bad faith to discredit our organization.

“How can people be so mean to spread such sensitive information that OPC attacked the Yoruba nation agitators?

“Such information was wicked, mischievous, and uncalled for and could trigger a crisis and cause unnecessary disaffection between the OPC and sons and daughters of the Yoruba race.

“This was the fourth time that such information had been spread against the OPC and it is very sad and unfortunate that the purveyors of such inciting information are doing it in bad faith.

“So, members of the public should not be deceived by unconfirmed reports, however, it is the sacred responsibility of the media to investigate any report before going to the Press.

“Information at my disposal from the visual contents of happenings in Ojota indicated a peaceful rally that later became awry, leaving in its wake a bitter experience that led to the death of one of the Yoruba nation agitators.

“It is unfortunate that such crisis could lead to such fracas that eventually claimed one life”, Gani Adams said.