•Say Afenifere fighting to protect South-West
Afenifere has been commended for fighting to secure the unconditional release of 15 out of 21 Yoruba people arrested in connection with the March 8 ethnic clash in Ile-Ife, Osun State which left 46 people dead.
Making the commendation in Lagos at the weekend, the South-West Youth Assembly described Afenifere’s action as laudable.
Following the violent clash, the police had arrested 21 Yoruba people. But the police action triggered public outrage as many people accused the police of taking sides by arresting only Yoruba people while no Hausa was picked up.
Leading the protest against what it described as police partisanship, Afenifere leaders demanded unconditional release of the suspects. The group later assembled a team of lawyers that dragged the police to court.
Nigerian Police
While hailing Afenifere for protecting Yoruba interests, the South-West Youth Assembly, speaking through its General Secretary, Michael Babalola, berated the police for being biased and taking sides when two parties were involved in a clash.
‘’The police were clearly against the Yoruba, and that’s why they arrested only Yoruba and left out Hausa. We were not surprised by the police action since the Inspector-General of Police is an Hausa man. We thank God that the Afenifere rose to the occasion, otherwise the detainees would have been rotting away in prison. When two parties are involved in a crisis, natural justice demands that suspects from both sides are arrested and investigated. It is only in Nigeria that this kind of thing can happen and this is very sad”, Babalola stated. Describing the police action as a big shame and an embarrassment to the nation, the group’s President said:
”The Inspector-General of Police , Ibrahim Idris, and his men did a shoddy job. But we have a feeling that the police action was deliberate. The IG, being a northerner, was clearly trying to protect the Hausa. But is this how to build a nation? Northern leaders and elders should caution Ibrahim. He should not take action capable of stoking the fire of ethnicity.He should know that we are not in Animal Farm where some animals are more equal than the others” .
Lamenting that the crisis resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of property, he added:
‘’Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Oba Ademola Ademiluyi, Alapoje of Apoje community in Ile-Ife, who is still being detained by the police with four others over the crisis, the South-West Youth Assembly described the continued detention and the parade of the monarch by the police as a big insult to the Yoruba traditional institution.
The group expressed its support for the protest by a group of traditional rulers in Yorubaland who have berated the police for parading the monarch like a common criminal.
‘’We not only frown at but also deplore the police parading of Oba Ademiluyi like a criminal in Abuja. It is insulting. Can an Emir in the North be paraded by the police like that? Yoruba will not tolerate this kind of insult and injustice. Enough is enough. It is not compulsory that we should remain as one entity. It is better to say ‘to thy tent oh Israel’ instead of one particular ethnic group attempting to lord it over others. We can’t continue this way and hope that things will remain the same” .
