Politics
DSS stops June 12 rally in Ibadan, arrests three
Three persons were on Wednesday arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, after a planned June 12 rally torganised by the Yoruba Summit Group in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital was stopped.
The rally, scheduled to hold in front of the Government House, Agodi Arcade, was organised by Yoruba Summit Group, a coalition of all socio-cultural and self-determination groups in Yorubaland, was planned to discuss insecurity in the South-West.
The DSS operatives arrived in about five buses at the venue at 7am and barricaded the area.
A public affairs analyst and state Coordinator of the Oodua Coalition Against Insurgency and Kidnapping in Yorubaland, Dr Tunde Hamzat, a female activist identified as Princess Oyeronke and a sound system operator, who was at the venue to provide his services, we’re arrested and taken to the state headquarters of the DSS at Aleshinloye.
The National Public Relations Officer of the Odua Peoples Congress (New Era), Adesina Akinpelu, confirmed the development.
“We got the necessary approval, but we were surprised to see men of the DSS arriving much earlier, even before the coalition members, with the intent to stop the rally,” Akinpelu said.
Read also: It’s a national tragedy Democracy Day is being celebrated under Buhari govt – PDP
Akinpelu, who insisted they were still looking for other leaders of the coalition, said the botched rally was tagged o to ge (enough is enough) to commemorate the June 12 Democracy Day.
He added: “The rally was called to address the issue of insecurity in the land and safeguard Yoruba people who are becoming endangered in the land through incessant kidnappings and wanton attacks on their farmlands.
“We don’t want to take the law into our own hands and that’s why we called the meeting to drum it to the hearing of Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari, that aside declaring June 12 Democracy Day, he should also tackle the issue of insecurity in our land.”
According to him, all entreaties by leaders of the group fell on deaf ears of the security operatives who claimed to be acting on “orders from above.”
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...