Oyo police arraigns 29 Yoruba Nation agitators in court

The Oyo State Police Command, on Wednesday, April 17, in Ibadan, charged at least 29 suspected members of the Yoruba Nation group advocating for secession.

As reported by Punch, they were brought before the Chief Magistrates Court for their alleged involvement in the attempted takeover of the Governor’s Office and the state House of Assembly.

The case, Mi/520c/2024, pits the Commissioner of Police against the 29 defendants.

This comes after an incident on April 13, 2024, when masked individuals, believed to be Yoruba Nation supporters, tried to raise their flag at the state secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan but were thwarted by security forces.

The charges against the defendants include treasonable felonies, unlawful association, illegal possession of weapons, and behaviour likely to incite unrest.

Investigative Police Officer Bakare Rasaq, an inspector at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Iyaganku, Ibadan, stated that the action violates Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000, and is subject to punishment.

The Commissioner of Police, Hamzat Adebola, displayed 20 suspects on Monday.

Pulse earlier reported that some of the suspects laid siege to the secretariat on the morning of Saturday, April 13, 2024, prompting the intervention of the security agencies.

The motive of the onslaught remains unclear as the secretariat is on break and deserted.

The suspects were said to have arrived at the premises in buses hoisting flags suspected to belong to some agitators.

People around the secretariat environment reported sounds of gunshots as security agents engaged the suspected agitators.