By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
ARRESTED five Yoruba Nation Agitators, who hijacked Amuludun FM in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Sunday morning, have explained why they carried out their action.
The suspects
They gave reasons behind their action during their parade at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Sunday.
Stonix News reports that they were arrested by a team of policemen at the FM station located at Moniya in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state with charms.
It was gathered that the suspects were not armed with weapons, but charms and did no harm to staffers in the radio station, but only took over the studio to make live broadcast to Yoruba people.
Charms
Five suspects, including a female, clad in polo shirts with the inscription: “Yoruba Nation Army,” were arrested and paraded.
Fielding questions from journalists in Yoruba language during their parade in Ibadan on Sunday, one of the five suspects, said they were told by their sponsors abroad to go on live broadcast on the radio that freedom for the Yoruba Nation has been granted.
He said one ‘Black Lion,’ whose real name he said was unknown to him, sent them to invade the radio station and carry out the freedom broadcast.
He sought mercy from the government, saying they were not aware there was nothing of such.
CP Adebowale Williams
“I want government to have mercy on us. What happened was that some people sent us. We didn’t fight anybody.
“As it is, we need mercy. We didn’t know what we were sent to do was wrong. Those who sent us are in the US.
“The police accosted us and we surrendered because we didn’t go there to fight. When we called those who sent us that we’ve been arrested, they said they’ll call the power that be to release us.
“We were promised no money or anything. We bought into it because our people are suffering. We’re suffering too.
“What were told was that Yoruba Nation has been declared and granted. We were not fighting anyone.
“We were told to go and broadcast it in the radio station and take over our land. They told us that the army, police and other security agencies will not harrass us.
“We had no guns. We were told no one will harm us. We did not harm aniybody in the studio. Some of us only armed ourselves with charms for protection not to attack.
“We were asked to announce that the Yoruba Nation has been declared and freed from Nigeria. That’s what we said on air,” he narrated.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Police Command, CP Adebowale Williams, while addressing the press said the command received a distress call from staffers of the station before his men swiftly swung into action.
According to him, the arrested suspects included: Noah Atoyebi, 30, Gbenga Adeleke, 25, AbdulGaniyu Mustapha Kolawole, 35, Bashiru Kehinde (female) and Kajola Elijah, 45.
CP Williams, however, admonished parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their children and wards, adding that the command would drag its intelligence wider to arrest other members of the separatist group.
Stonix News had earlier reported that Amuludun FM, a substation under the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Ibadan was hijacked on Sunday morning by the agitators.
What's your reaction?
