Some Yoruba Nation agitators, on Sunday morning, seized Radio Nigeria, Amuludun FM 99.1 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, taking over broadcast for more than one hour.
A source said that the agitators, who besieged the station around 5:40 am in an 18-seater bus, were armed with dangerous weapons and charms, threatening to deal decisively with any staff member who refused to cooperate with them.
However, four out of the agitators, among whom was a woman, were arrested by the police with the assistance of the Nigerian army, while others ran into different directions to evade arrest.
One of the arrested agitators, who sustained gunshot wounds, had rushed into the studio to tell others that security operatives had taken over the nooks and crannies of the station. The blood stain was seen in the studio.
An investigation by our correspondent revealed that after holding some night duty staff and security guards hostage, the agitators hijacked the studio and announced live on radio “Welcome to Yoruba Nation.”
An impeccable source further said they continued threatening staff members to remove all Nigeria flags in the station and replace them with Yoruba Nation flags as they have already taken over the Government Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
It was further learnt that they initially hijacked some commercial vehicles (Micra) to block the main road.
When our correspondent visited the station at J&P Bus-stop, Moniya in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state, more than 20 operational vehicles of security agents, including Department of State Services were sighted at strategic locations to forestall any eventuality.
Confirming the invasion, the most senior staff on duty, Ajayi Omotola, stated that, “They told us that they are Yoruba Nation agitators. And in their T-shirt, there was that inscription there. They wrote Yoruba Nation. Only six persons came inside the studio with different charms threatening to kill us if we failed to cooperate. Others were outside manning security at different areas within the premises.
“They collected all our phones and threatened to kill us if we made any noise or phone calls. They said they wanted to broadcast live that Yoruba Nation has taken over. We should remove all Nigeria flags in our studio and replace it with their own. They didn’t allow anybody to go outside. The Area Commander came, addressed and even pleaded with them but they ignored him. We later heard sporadic shooting outside. So, one of our staff members then came inside to inform us that police and soldiers had arrived,” Omotola stressed.
As of press time, normalcy had returned while stern-looking security operatives were still manning the station.
The radio station was established on October 10, 2007, and commenced transmission in pure and undiluted Yoruba language on October 22, the same year.
Meanwhile, The Lagos State Police Command has arrested two Yoruba nation agitators.
The police said they were arrested in the early hours of Sunday when the agitators stormed Alausa Police Division chanting, “Yoruba Nation has taken over.”
In a series of tweets posted on the Lagos Police Command handle, @LagosPoliceNG and signed by the Lagos PRO, Benjamin Hundeyin, the police confirmed that some officers were also injured while trying to disperse the agitators.
The police said, “The agitators, numbering fifteen, had stormed Alausa Police Division at about 0535hrs today, chanting, ‘Yoruba Nation has taken over,’ and injured some police officers who attempted to disperse them. Two of the agitators were arrested while the rest took to their heels following the prompt and coordinated response of the police.
“The suspects who were arrested with charms, dangerous weapons and different offensive insignias bearing Yoruba Nation Army, stormed Alausa Division along with others at about the same time another set of the group was attempting to take over a radio station in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“They claimed they came to officially inform the Police that the United Nations had granted approval for the take-off of the Yoruba Nation. The arrested suspects are currently assisting the police in the ongoing investigation into the subversive plans of the group as well as their network of sponsors, all of whom will soon be unveiled and brought to deserved justice in the overriding internal security interest of the state.”
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Idowu Owohunwa, in the tweet, issued a stern warning that all subversive elements should steer clear of the state as the command is ready to bring the full weight of the law to bear on them or on any other elements that might attempt to disrupt the peace of the state.
.Akintoye condemns invasion, disowns activists
The leader of the umbrella body of Yoruba Nation Self Determination Struggle, Emeritus Prof. Banji Akintoye, has condemned the early Sunday morning invasion of Amuludun FM Radio at Moniya, Ibadan, by some persons suspected to be members of the Yoruba Nation agitators.
Akintoye in a statement Sunday described the invasion as ”criminal and breach of public peace.”
In the statement made available by his Assistant Director of Programmes, Olatunde Amusat, Akintoye further said the action was “lawless and profoundly criminal.”
Part of the statement reads further; “The attention of the Yoruba Self Determination Movement has been drawn to the activities of a group led by a Woman that has claimed to be running a totally different agenda for Yoruba emancipation and that has been engaging
again and again in criminal activity.
“The group has been warned repeatedly, but has refused to change,”
Akintoye, a Senator in Second Republic said.
“The Yoruba Self Determination led by me runs a struggle that is totally peaceful and law abiding.
“We have even written a 34- page manual to guide our followers and all Yoruba people about peaceful and law abiding self determination struggle.
“We have written to the outgoing President of Nigeria and to the Secretary General of the United Nations about our legitimate demand for self determination for our Yoruba nation.
“We have emphasised in everyone of those letter that our struggle is peaceful and law abiding.
“We have no relationship whatsoever with the group that has repeatedly engaged in crime and we have no hands in their criminal conduct.”
