…Warns ISWAP
CITIZENS COMPASS—The Yoruba Assembly has said that it would defend its territory against any incursion on Yorubaland.
The Assembly kicked against any attempted coup d’etat against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu saying any incursion of the Military at this point in time could be dangerous to democracy.
The Assembly converged on Lagos yesterday, to communicate this to all appropriate authorities in the country.
Citizens Compass was reliably informed that the meeting became necessary following the alarm raised by the Department of State Services (DSS) of an imminent terrorist attack by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on some Yoruba states.
The outcome of the meeting said the Yorubas were ready to defend their territories to resist the planned invasion of ISWAP.
The event was themed; “Democracy and the future of the people.”
Speaking, the Keynote speaker and foremost Yoruba leader, Hon Wale Osun, warned the Military to stay off politics in Nigeria.
He said that until state police become a reality, these challenges would persist.
“The marauding terrorists, bandits and criminals in-spite of diverse kinetic and non-kinetic efforts of the security agencies still manage to thrive and drive fear in the citizens.
“I believe the circulating news about their activities are more real than unreal, and the Oke Ode implosion in Kwara state is a dire warning to each of the Yoruba states in our region. Have we not been silent witnesses to the murder of a traditional ruler, Onikoro of Ikoro in our domain? Have some communities not been overrun by these terrorists wrongfully described as herdsmen, in pursuit of a livelihood, when in reality they are a nationality alien to Nigeria in pursuit of land conquest, occupation and political domination?”
The Assembly questioned what the governors and governments of the Yoruba states are doing.
“Does any of them think or is any in a position to contemplate that he acting by himself can protect his people? Even when the mighty force of the Federal government and her military sometimes wary under the onslaught of these terrorists! I doubt if the governors’ many internal and external travels would allow them to concentrate on tackling the issue of insecurity under their noses.
“It cannot all be the responsibility of the Central government particularly when we speak of the need and inevitability of a subnational policing system that is allowed to kit its formation and stand up to the marauders. The governors working together across the country should make the issue of subnational policing become a reality and degrade the cartel that had turned the National Police Agency into more or less an occupational police.”
Other speakers were renowned journalist Adewale Adeoye, leaders of Pan Yoruba groups, Rasaq Arogundade, Wasiu Afolabi, Rasaq Olokooba and Taofik Adeyemi.
The Itsekiris in Delta State, Akoko Edo, Kwara and Kogi States were ably represented.
The Assembly said the rumoured coup d’etat against Tinubu could have been precipitated by a cabal in its bid to truncate a peaceful co-existence in Nigeria warning that military intervention at this point in time would scuttle the economy, undermine free speech and destroy the gains of democracy which came into being since 1999.
They warned against any attempt capable of instigating ethnic violence across the country and finally called on Yoruba governors to wake up.
