Despite police threats, manhunt for Igboho, organisers insist on Lagos rally for Yoruba Nation

Despite the decision of Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho to call off the scheduled rally in Lagos in agitation for a Yoruba Nation, co-organisers of the rally, Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO), have vowed to proceed with or without Igboho.

Igboho’s withdrawal came in the aftermath of a raid on his Ibadan residence by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) who later announced a manhunt for the activist.

The rally is scheduled for Saturday, July 3 in Lagos.

This was contained in a statement issued by Professor Banji Akintoye, the IOO leader, on Thursday.

Akintoye emphasised that the rally will continue as scheduled.

Akintoye said: “I call on our people at home and in the Diaspora to immediately begin mass protests in front of palaces in Yorubaland, and opposite the offices of the United Nations, European Union, British, French and the United States governments.

“We want to confirm again that the Pro-Yoruba Nation rally scheduled to hold on Saturday July 3, in Lagos will proceed as scheduled.”

Read also: Soyinka denies social media post supporting agitation for Yoruba nation

However, the Lagos State Police Command has warned the IOO against any form of rally that may spark violence in the state.

Addressing a joint press conference with the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, at Alausa, Lagos State, Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, said that the Command would not allow any form of rally in the State.

“The Lagos State Police Command hereby declares that no rally will be allowed, under whatever guise, in any part of the State,” he added.

While warning the organisers and their followers against staging the planned rally, Odumosu urged them to stay away from Lagos in the interest of public peace.

He vowed to deal with recalcitrant individuals within the ambits of the law.

Citing intelligence reports, Odumosu said the IOO organisers planned to stage the rally simultaneously in 18 locations in the state.

He also disclosed that a certain ‘Elewe-Omo’, a transport union leader in Ibadan, Oyo State, planned to attack the organisers of the rally as a reprisal following the death of one of his followers in recent violence.

“The Command will not fold its arms and allow disgruntled elements to truncate the peace being enjoyed in the state,” he warned.

Also speaking, Omotoso said that while the government was not against rallies in a democratic setting, staging such a rally in Lagos now is antithetical to the state’s progress.

“The scars of #EndSARS protests are still visible in the state. We advise the organisers to shelve the idea” Omotoso said.

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