Ilana Omo Oodua said the attack was a declaration of war on Yoruba people, adding that it was time to gain independence from Nigeria.
The umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, has reacted to a claim by the Nigerian government that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists were responsible for the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, while briefing State House correspondents on Thursday, had said ISWAP militants were responsible for the killings.
Reacting in a statement, the Yoruba Group, in a statement on Thursday by Maxwell Adeleye on behalf of the leader, Prof Banji Akintoye, said the revelation justified its earlier claim that the South-West was indeed under siege.
On Sunday, after gunmen’s attack on the cathedral, Ilana Omo Oodua said the attack was a declaration of war on Yoruba people, adding that it was time to gain independence from Nigeria.
With Thursday's revelation, Ilana Omo Oodua says its claim has been justified.
Its statement reads, “The Declaration of the Nigerian Government that ISWAP was responsible for the Owo Massacre is a vindication of our earlier position that Yoruba land has been encircled by Fulani foreign terrorists disguising as herdsmen.
“We, therefore, reinstate our earlier position that the Government of Ondo State should declare an emergency on the activities of Fulani herdsmen in Ondo State. All Fulani herdsmen operating in Ondo State should be profiled. Those in the bush must be flushed out.
“The Fulani terrorists who were imported through the North-West and transported to the South of Nigeria through trailers are obviously in our territory to subjugate us and take over our land but they are being warned now to leave or face the wrath of our people. Yoruba land cannot be subjugated or conquered.
“These Invaders are particularly not happy that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo-State has been intercepting them in Ondo State while coming from the North. We urge Akeredolu not to be intimidated. History shall be kind to him. The Yoruba people shall triumph.”