January 09, (THEWILL) – The Aare onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, has debunked reports that members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), were involved in the crisis that erupted in Ojota, Lagos, on Monday.
THEWILL earlier reported that the rally held Monday by the Yoruba Nation Agitators turned violent after Police dispersed the group with teargas.
The spokesperson of the state Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that one person was killed in the incident.
But in a statement issued by Kehinde Aderemi, the Special Assistant on Media to Gani Adams, said none of his members was part of the Ojota fracas.
The statement read: “Let me clear the air on the crisis that had engulfed Ojota this morning. There were unconfirmed reports linking members of the OPC to the mayhem. I want to state it clearly that none of our members was at the scene of the incident.
“OPC is not against the liberation of Yoruba race, however, it is a fact that the struggle for the liberation of Yoruba race is an inalienable right of all Yoruba to champion self-determination. We are not part of the peaceful rally held in Ojota.
“Our position on regionalism is very clear. It is sacrosanct because that is what we are seeking at the moment.
“Nigeria should be restructured to full regional autonomy, where each region will be at liberty to operate at their own pace.
“It is unfortunate that the report was done in bad faith to discredit our organisation. How can people be so mean to spread such sensitive information that OPC attacked the Yoruba nation agitators? Such information was wicked, mischievous, and uncalled for and could trigger crisis and cause unnecessary disaffection between the OPC and sons and daughters of Yoruba race.
“This was the fourth time that such information had been spread against the OPC and it is very sad and unfortunate that the purveyors of such inciting information are doing it in bad faith.
“So, members of the public should not be deceived by unconfirmed reports, however, it is the sacred responsibility of the media to investigate any report before going to the Press.
“Information at my disposal from the visual contents of happenings in Ojota indicated a peaceful rally that later went awry, leaving in its wake, a bitter experience that led to the death of one of the Yoruba nation agitators.
“It is unfortunate that such crisis could lead to such fracas that eventually claimed one life.”
