The University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan has refuted claims alleging its premises were used as an armory by Yoruba Nation agitators. In a statement issued by the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Funmi Adetuyibi, on Tuesday, the hospital reiterated its commitment to healthcare delivery and emphasized its adherence to lawful practices.
Reports surfaced of separatist Yoruba Nation agitators, dressed in army camouflage and armed with rifles, attempting to raise their flag at the Oyo State House of Assembly premises last Saturday. Security forces intervened, leading to the arrest of 21 agitators.
A viral video purportedly showing police arresting some agitators on UCH premises fueled speculation of an armory on the hospital grounds. Adetuyibi clarified that six agitators, evading police, entered the hospital’s North-West Campus Area. Hospital security promptly apprehended them, and they were subsequently handed over to the police.
Adetuyibi stated, “Upon detection by our vigilant security personnel, the Chief Security Officer swiftly alerted the Yemetu Police Station.” Law enforcement officers arrived, leading to the abandonment of camouflage attire, berets, and ammunition by the fleeing suspects. Two were apprehended, while four escaped.
The hospital affirmed its commitment to healthcare, research, training, and clinical services. It urged the public to refrain from spreading baseless rumors that could harm its reputation.
In a separate development, the family of late MKO Abiola disassociated itself from one of his widows, Dupe Onitiri-Abiola, who declared support for Yoruba Nation agitators.
Onitiri-Abiola had, in a viral video on social media, called the “Democratic Republic of Yoruba.”
She declared that the Democratic Republic of Yoruba came into existence on Friday, April 12, a day before the agitators invaded the Oyo State Government secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan.
Speaking in the Yoruba dialect, Onitiri-Abiola said, “We are indigenous people. We are sovereign people. We are ethnic nationalists. That we should leave Nigeria. Today, April 12, 2024, we leave with the power of God.
“I, Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, proclaim the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba. From today, Yoruba land begins its government. It has become the newest nation. Yoruba became a country that nobody is against. This is hereby established. I, Modupe Onitire-Abiola, am an origin of Yoruba. I am MKO Abiola’s widow.”
But reacting on behalf of the family, one of the late Abiola’s children, Jamiu, told one of our correspondents, that Onitiri-Abiola “is on her own.”
