From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The South West Governors’ Forum under the chairmanship of Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has been urged to rescue the 49 Yoruba nation agitators, arrested on Saturday July 3rd in Ojota, Lagos by the men of the Nigeria Police Force, for participating in the Yoruba nation rally.
The appeal was made by a Yoruba self-determination group, Yoruba Ko’ya Liberation Movement (YKLM), in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Oluwajuyitan.
The group, however, commended the governors of Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States, as well as their counterparts in the South East and South South, on the unanimous decision taken to ban open grazing of cows in South West.
Yoruba Ko’ya Liberation Movement said: “Yoruba Ko’ya Liberation Movement commends the courage showed by governors in the South West and others in the southern region of Nigeria to demand that equity and fairness be applied in the administration of Nigeria.
“We also appreciate the unity of purpose that is currently being displayed by the governors in advocating and protecting the political and economic interests of the region.
“We, however, demand that the governors should add their voice to complement the popular view among the people and condemn the unlawful arrest and detention of activists/protesters demanding right to self-determination of the Yoruba people at Ojota, Lagos on Saturday July 3rd, 2021.
“Such condemnation of this act must be unequivocal and time-based to ensure a speedy release of the protesters. We, hereby, appeal that our governors in the South West to ensure that the protesters are released unconditionally, if they want the Yoruba people to take them serious.
“We also implore the governors to continue to present a united front, while protecting the political interests of the south.”