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Silencing Akintoye, Igboho, Kanu Won’t End Agitations For Separation — Coalition Of Yoruba Groups

November 5, 2021

The coalition made this known in a statement issued by the Secretary-General, Steve Abioye.

The coalition of Yoruba self-determination groups has warned President Muhammadu Buhari against silencing the leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Banji Akintoye; leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu and Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho) stating that it will not put an end to the separatist agitations across the country.

The coalition made this known in a statement issued by the Secretary-General, Steve Abioye. 

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The group was reacting to the attack on Prof. Akintoye’s house, the arrest of Ighoho and the continual incarceration of Kanu. 

Recall that on October 30, gunmen attacked Akintoye's residence in Ado-Ekiti, a statement from Maxwell Adeyemi confirmed. 

Also, Igboho was arrested in July after fleeing Nigeria to evade arrest by Nigeria's secret police

The Nigerian government had in June announced Kanu’s arrest and ‘extradition’ from Kenya to continue to face trial in Nigeria.

Reacting to the series of events in a statement, the group noted, “The Coalition of Yoruba self-determination groups receives the news of the attack on the house of the leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Prof. Banji Akintoye with an utter sense of disappointment.

“Prof. Banji Akintoye is an elder statesman who has paid his dues in ensuring a better society and general well-being of Yorubaland, and even Nigeria, before he made a detour to Yoruba secessionist agenda as a result of the refusal of the northern establishment to accept restructuring of Nigeria.

“In as much as the coalition is not linking the Federal Government to this dastardly act of cowardice, it is our belief that the state should ensure that thorough investigation is carried out to convince Nigerians that government knew nothing about it and the perpetrators brought to book,” the statement stated.

The Coalition further stressed that the only way secessionist agitations across Nigeria can be a nip in the bud is for the Buhari-led government to begin the process of putting machinery in motion to either bring back the pre-1966 Constitution, which the founding fathers of Nigeria agreed upon and which enabled each region of Nigeria to be autonomous of the centre to an appreciable degree or to revisit Jonathan’s national conference report.

The group added: “Federal Government needs to be told the gospel truth that silencing Nnamdi Kanu or Igboho or Akintoye or Dokubo is not the way out of separatist agitation as more of such people will still emerge in the society except the government does the needful of genuine restructuring based on people’s constitution.”

 

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