Some of the suspected O’odua Nation Agitators, who were arrested by Oyo state police command over the invasion of the governor’s office and the Oyo State House of Assembly, have said they didn’t regret their actions.
The Nation Newspaper reports that the suspected agitators claimed that what they did was not a treasonable felony, but rather followed all due processes, legal activities, and procedures.
Recall that some masked men in army camouflage with rifles suspected to be Yoruba Nation Agitators on Saturday stormed the Oyo State Government Secretariat.
Speaking with newsmen on Monday at Oyo State Police Command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, one of the agitators, Alabi Ogundeji, a 55-years-old lecturer at Federal College of Education (Special), (SPED), Oyo, said he feels comfortable because he on his right, adding that what he did was lawful under Nigeria law and international law.
He said: “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.
A 29-year-old phone repairer, Ademola Adeniyi, who was also part of the arrested agitators said he also didn’t regret his actions.
He said: “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.”
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Commissioner, Adebola Hamzat while parading the suspects described the act as criminal, unpatriotic, and a clear case of treasonable felony and terrorism which would be meted with adequate sanctions.
He stated that the continued existence of Nigeria as a sovereign indivisible entity is a task that must be accomplished, saying, “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in Vain.
He said Oyo State Police Command will be unrelenting in ensuring the continued united corporate existence of Nigeria as a country.
