Aside from Modupe Abiola Onitiri, one of the suspects revealed that other sponsors of the group reside in diaspora and that they’ve been meeting with them virtually.
Following the invasion of the Oyo State secretariat by suspected Yoruba nation agitators on Saturday, one of the agitators, Ismaila Malomo, has named one Modupe Abiola Onitiri as one of their sponsors.
The suspected agitators had on Saturday invaded the Oyo State secretariat dressed in military camouflage and attempted to take over the State House of Assembly.
Mr Malomo disclosed this speaking with journalists on Monday while being paraded alongside 20 others by the Oyo State Police Command at its Eleyele Headquarters in Ibadan.
He stated that he volunteered to drive the agitators down to the secretariat in Ibadan from Idi-Iroko in Ogun State.
The suspect also revealed that other sponsors of the group reside in diaspora and that they have been meeting with them virtually.
“I drove the bus; it’s my bus. I received a message from my friend here that one of our sponsors, named Modupe Abiola Onitiri, gave us an order to go and take over Oyo State government Secretariat and wait there till she comes around and pronounces the Republic Nation of Oodua.
“We have several people as our sponsors, but they’re in the diaspora. The ones that I can recollect for now are Modupe Abiola Onitiri, one Micky, and there are some others too.
“We do have virtual meetings frequently with these people, and at the last meeting, they told us that they’ve secured sovereignty from the United Nations and they’ve sent letters to all the concerned bodies that very soon they will come to Ibadan to formally declare the Yoruba Nation. That’s why I followed them down here, I’m so sorry for my actions,” he said.
[…] Another suspected agitator, Alabi Ogundeji, a teacher at the Federal Government College, Oyo, stated that their leaders had taken the necessary steps before they invaded the secretariat, adding that their intent was not to kill or injure anyone but to declare a Yoruba Nation, which according to him, is their right.
Mr Ogundeji also described their action as legal.
“Our leaders have taken all the steps they ought to have taken on this issue. They’ve embarked on a referendum. They’ve issued almost 500 petitions; it was signed and served to all the Yoruba speaking states – Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Lagos, Ekiti, Kogi and Kwara states.
“All these states were served with official letters and we have our own copies too. So, our action at the Oyo State government secretariat is legal. We were only there to express happiness and joy over the proclamation of Yoruba Nation; we were not there to kill anybody.”
