Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere Renewal Group, has described invasion of the Oyo state secretariat by some self acclaimed Yoruba Nation agitators as a brazen display of terrorism act.

ARG, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital on Tuesday, April 16, by its Ekiti state publicity secretary, Michael Ogungbemi, who condemned the act, called on the security agencies to investigate the self proclaimed “secessionists” to know their intentions.

The group described the suspects as enemies of state, who were trying to polarise the country along ethnic lines and make it ungovernable for President Bola Tinubu.

It urged the federal government to treat the perpetrators as terrorists, who were allegedly trying forcefully supplant reign of a democratically elected government.

He said It sounded unfathomable that some group of “renegades” acting as Yoruba Nation agitators’ could take such an unconstitutional act that robbed on the sovereignty of the Nigerian nation, even at a time when a Yoruba man is controlling the levers of powers in Nigeria.

ARG commended the security agencies for their swift response in resisting and apprehending the agitators, advising that none should be spared from prosecution to send a signal that Nigeria is not a banana republic.

The statement read: “It frightens us as Southwesterners to hear that people from Yoruba , known for their education, intellect and civility be involved in such act of lawlessness and terrorism. That was unacceptable and all lovers of peace and democracy must rise up to defend our nation.

“Self determination as contained in the UN Charters of Rights can’t be done in such a dastardly fashion. How could a small fraction of people, who were hardly known in Yoruba race be agitating on behalf of over 70 million Yoruba people for self actualisation? Such agitation was alien and unpopular in the region.

“We in ARG and other discerning Nigerians believed that it was a desperate attempt to destabilize the progressing government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But we are ready to resist this.

“It was sad and disheartening that this came when the region was just recovering from kidnapping and banditry being perpetrated by some foreigners. How could we now recover from this and then begin to allow self inflicted injuries to be so imposed?.

“This is a country being governed by law. The security agencies must broaden its investigations into this matter. We suspect that the agitators were being goaded by some unseen hands. Whoever found culpable must be made to account for his misdeeds.” (The Nation)

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