The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OPC

  • Ile-Ife crisis: Falana, OPC flay Police over parade of suspects

    Ile-Ife crisis: Falana, OPC flay Police over parade of suspects

    Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC) (Reformed) have berated the Police over the recent parade of the detained members of the Peace Corps of Nigeria and the 20 persons arrested in connection with the crisis in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    They described the parade of the suspects as illegal and a violation of their fundamental human rights.

    Falana asked the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) to order the arrest and prosecution of law enforcement personnel who engaged in the media parade of the suspects.

    The OPC Reformed chided the governors in the Southwest for keeping silent over what it termed selective parade of the Yoruba.

    Falana said the detained members of the Peace Corps and the Ile Ife 20 who have been paraded by the Police Authorities are at liberty to sue the Federal Government for aggravated and exemplary damages.

    He recalled that when the police on February 26 conducted a media trial and parade of the detained 49 members of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, he condemned their action and pointed out the fact that “the parade of criminal suspects by the Police in the country is illegal and unconstitutional.”

    The lawyer also recalled that shortly after the incident, there was a violent clash between the Yoruba and Hausa communities in Ile Ife, Osun State during which 20 suspects arrested by the police were paraded before the media in Abuja last week, noting that since the suspects are of Yoruba extraction the Afenifere has condemned the selective arrest by the police.

    He noted that though the courts have repeatedly cautioned the law enforcement agencies to desist from parading criminal suspects before the media, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris has justified the illegal practice.

    Falana, however, described the IGP’s defence as that “which smacks of official impunity and insensitivity. Notwithstanding that such media parade is prejudicial to the fundamental right of criminal suspects to fair hearing, the ruling class has not stopped it because it is part of the humiliation of lowly placed citizens. Hence, while it is not unusual to parade poor criminal suspects who are accused of stealing handsets whose value is less than N10,000 it is infra dignitate to parade rich and powerful criminal suspects who loot the treasury to the tune of several billions of Naira”.

    The OPC Reformed, in a statement  by its President, Dare Adesope said the group will stage a massive protest through out the entire Southwest states and it’s going to commence on same day, same time and for same hours, if the Southwest governors fail to do something about the incident urgently.

    “After waiting for this long without any governor in the Southwest saying anything, we found it very compelling to tell our governors in the western part of this country that we  are saying enough of this nefarious acts across the country by the Hausa/Fulanis.

    “We of OPC ( Reformed) voted for PMB inspite of threats, oppression and intimidation from some angles. We voted him so as to bring about a positive change to the whole country and not to run a government that will favour a particular tribe at the expense of other tribes in the country.

    “In as much as we appreciate what he is doing in the area of corruption, he should be fair to all other tribes as well.

    The group challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to make his stand known concerning Ile Ife crisis where Yoruba were arrested to favour the Hausa/Fulani and taken to Abuja.

    It raised four issues for which it requested the Federal Government to provide answer :

    “Since the Fulani Herdsmen have been encroaching people’s land killing, rapping and destroying their farms, how many have been arrested and taken to Abuja? Who identified the Yoruba people that were arrested as suspects during the crisis?

    “Is it fair to arrest only the Yorubas in a crisis that affected the Yoruba and the Hausa/Fulanis on our soil?. Is it constitutionally right to arrest them in Ife,Osun State and take them to Abuja?”

    They asked the Federal Government to instruct the Police to transfer the suspects back to Osun State.

  • OPC joins military in manhunt for kidnappers

    OPC joins military in manhunt for kidnappers

    Smarting from some of its members’ death in kidnappers hands, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) yesterday joined the military to flush out some of its criminals from the Lagos-Ogun creeks.
    The Nigerian Army on Monday launched an onslaught against kidnappers after Lieutenant Gyang was abducted at Ijedodo in Abule Ado, a Lagos suburb.
    An OPC Coordinator, Akeem Lawal, was injured in an attack by militants last weekend.
    A statement by Yinka Oguntimehin, spokesman for the Gani Adams OPC faction, said the group had run out of patience and was ready to take the war to the militants.
    He said: “We are taking no more chances. I think our tolerance has been mistaken for cowardice and it is time to act. Now we are ready to join hands with the relevant Nigerian forces to smoke out all militants that have constituted themselves as the tail troubling the dog of Lagosians all these while. We have already moved into action, and they shall all be smoked out and dealt with, in no time.”
    It was gathered that over 20 armed militants stormed Ijedodo on Friday night and dragged the Lieutenant into their speedboat after engaging the soldiers there in a gun duel.
    Operatives of Operation Awatse, a task force headed by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command (WNC) Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai have since taken over the various entry and exit points into the creeks.
    There were sporadic gunshots at Festac throughout Monday and in the early hours of yesterday forcing residents to remain indoors.
    A fisherman, said he noticed suspicious movements when he came to inspect his fishing net.
    He said: “I was coming to inspect my fishing net when I noticed some suspicious movements. One speed boat was at the shore with a man pretending to be carrying out repairs on it.
    “Then all of a sudden, my fears were confirmed following deafening gun shots. As that was going on, I saw a soldier being dragged into the speed boat that I assumed was faulty and they sped off shooting.”

  • Expectant woman seeks dissolution of 22 years marriage

    Expectant woman seeks dissolution of 22 years marriage

    An expectant woman, Biola Gani has requested the court to dissolve her marriage of 22 years with her husband who she claim is not responsible for the pregnancy.

    In a case with suit No. 40/2016 filed at a Grade C customary court sitting in Lagelu Local government, Iyana-offa, Biola is praying the court to end the marriage which had earlier produced three children for her husband on the ground of infidelity on the part of the man and which also propelled her to be dating someone else.

    She accused her husband of making her uncomfortable in the marriage which made her leave her matrimonial home to begin another relationship with one Munmodu Adeyemo.

    However, the accused husband, Mr. Kadir Ajala urged the court not to accede the request of his wife noting that he loves her and that he was the one responsible for her pregnancy.

    Both Ajala and Adeyemo were said to belong to the same camp of the Oodua People’s Congress, (OPC) in the area.

    Biola, who would prefer to be addressed in her maiden name as a way of expressing her determination to severe the marriage also accused her husband, Ajala of neglecting her and the three children the marriage.

    She told the court that for a long time, Ajala had stopped taking responsibility on her and the children which made her seek emotional and financial succour in the arm of another man.

    “I am not comfortable with the marriage, again. I have packed out from his house long before I started dating Mr. Munmodu Adeyemo.

    “I am not interested in my husband again, he only got me pregnant, he is not taking good care of me and even threatening to kill me anytime I complain. We have been married for 22years but I don’t want him again”, she told the court.

    In own presentation, Ajala prayed the court not to separate them because she has three grown up children for him.

    Ajala explained that she had earlier warned his wife not to join OPC but she refused and that the man she claimed to be dating has started threatening to kill him.

    “I know I am the one responsible for her pregnancy. Please, help me beg ‎my wife not to leave me because I love her so much and I have nothing against her or her about her attitude”, he told the court.

    Meanwhile, ‎Biola insisted that ‎she is no longer interested in Ajala, noting that four other women had had children for him to which he has also refused to take up their responsibilities as the father.

    ‎However, in his ruling, Deputy President of the court, Mr. Omoniyi Supo, who presided in the absence of the President, adjourned the case till Wednesday, February 22, 2017 for further hearing.

  • NTIC: OPC arrest suspected informant

    Members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) on Monday at Isheri arrested a suspected informant to the kidnappers of three pupils and five employees of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC).

    The suspect identified as Turkey was apprehended at Riverview Estate, Isheri and handed over to operatives of the Inspector-General of Police’ (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

    The Nation gathered that his arrest was sequel to conversations between him and the kidnappers allegedly traced by security forces.

    His arrest was said to have been made possible by the clamp down on his kinsmen at Ijaw Village by security forces, which allegedly forced him out of his hiding place.

    Confirming his arrest, the OPC Co-ordinator at Isheri, said: “It was his people that lured him back to the community and called us to come and arrest him, before the arrival of policemen.

    “There is a place called Ijaw Village in this area. There are many people from Ijaw in the area. We never knew that Turkey was an informant. He escaped initially but when police arrested some of his kinsmen, he resurfaced and we caught him.”

    However, the spokesman for the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP), denied such arrest was made.

    He said: “At the appropriate time, we would give you information. For now, I can tell you nothing like that happened. We would release information when the time is right.”

     

     

     

  • Boko Haram: OPC hails DSS

    Boko Haram: OPC hails DSS

    The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has hailed the Department of State Services (DSS) for its vigilance, which led to the arrest of suspected Boko Haram members in Lagos State.

    The DSS, on Tuesday, said it arrested four suspected Boko Haram members in Lagos.

    It said the Boko Haram members, who fled from Borno State, were arrested in Oko Oba.

    A statement yesterday by National Coordinator Gani Adams said the group was on the alert to combat any untoward development or atrocity by Boko Haram members.

    “This is also to warn those who are out to cause division within the Southwest and North Central states that their antics would be resisted.”

  • ‘OPC’ll resist attempts to humiliate Tinubu’

    The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), has warned that it will resist any attempt to denigrate and humiliate the National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    The group gave the warning in a statement in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, by Comrade Sina Akinpelu on behalf of the National Coordinating Council (NCC).

    He said with comments by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, it is obvious certain cabal, comprising northern Fulani oligarchy, had hijacked the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to him, the cabal is bent on seizing the APC structure, which  Tinubu and other progressives laboured to build.

    Akinpelu said OPC was aware the cabal believed the APC leader is the only threat to realisation of their pernicious agenda.

    He said: “Like him or hate him, Tinubu is a politician who understands the rudiments of politics.

    “It is because of his mastery of politics that has made President Muhammadu and host of others to be where they are today. “

    Tinubu, a shrewd strategist and a well grounded politician is always a step ahead of his contemporaries. That is why this cabal is doing

    everything to weaken the structure Tinubu used years to build.”

  • NURTW, OPC members clash in Oshodi

    … Several persons injured

    Many people were seriously wounded on Tuesday after members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) clashed at Oshodi, Lagos.

    The fight which started on Tuesday night continued till Wednesday morning as the factions brandishing bottles took over the main stretch of road that links Oshodi to other parts of the state.

    The Nation gathered that the crisis started after one of the wives of MC Olomo, an NURTW leader in Oshodi, blocked the road with her car.

    The woman reportedly parked her car indiscriminately on the road and obstructed other roads users.

    Among those obstructed was an OPC member who allegedly went berserk, prompting the woman to invite thugs loyal to her husband to the scene.

    Sensing danger, the OPC member also invited his colleagues who stormed the area with cutlasses and bottles.

    Our correspondent gathered that the hoodlums macheted several persons, while others were stabbed with broken bottles.

    It took the intervention of policemen from Akinpelu and Makinde Divisions, as well as the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) personnel before normalcy was restored to the area.

     

  • Oniba family seeks ‘divine intervention’ for king’s release

    Oniba family seeks ‘divine intervention’ for king’s release

    •OPC: monarch’s abduction slap on Yoruba

    The long wait for the release of the abducted Oniba of Iba, Oba Yishau Goriola Oseni, continued yesterday in his palace. He was kidnapped Saturday in his palace.

    His family members said they were seeking divine intervention to secure his release.

    The monarch’s son, Saheed, who is chairman of Senior Staff Assiociation of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Lagos State University (LASU) branch, said the family was anxious to know about his whereabouts.

    Prince Oseni said: “Up till now, we have not heard any information from the abductors. They escaped on Saturday with some phones with which we expected them to have called us; but so far, we haven’t heard anything yet.

    “All we have been doing is to seek divine intervention through prayers. Many religious bodies including traditionalists have been coming here to after prayers. We have also extended our reach spiritually hoping that within a short time, there shall be reprieve.”

    The palace was packed full of sympathisers who consoled the family.

    Mosques and Churches also continued to after prayers for the monarch’s release.

    Some religious groups were also at the palace to pray for the family and the monarch’s “safe return”.

    During the 7pm from a nearby mosque, also showed the Imam relived the incident and urged the king’s subjects to remain steadfast in prayers that for his release home unscathed.

    Also yesterday, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) described Oseni’s abduction as a slap on the Yoruba race.

    Meanwhile National Coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, told our reporter on phone that cooperation among stakeholders in Yorubaland was key to get OPC back on track.

    He said: “What happened to the Oniba of Iba is a slap on the entire Yoruba race. It shows these criminals have prepared their minds for battle. But I have said it last week that without the cooperation of the Yoruba people, it will be very difficult for us to act because the implication is of great concern to us.

    “We are learning from past experience, If it were before, as soon as it happened, we would have promptly mobilised our members within Iba and its environs to waylay the criminals before they escaped. But we realised that the more we continue to fight without the support of leaders in Yorubaland, people appeared to pay more attention on our negative aspect than the positive.

    “What is the population of these guys in the creek? Even though we don’t have weapons, but we know how to fight. Since last week that I had spoken, I have never seen any Yoruba leader that asks me what the way forward is.

    “It is not only the Ijaw that have the manpower; we have more than enough in Yoruba land. Much as we are ready to suppress them, we cannot at the same time be answering murder cases.

    “I have been in detention about four times for the cause of the Yoruba. I’m sure you remember the Yoruba/Ijaw crisis in Ajegunle. It was because of my support for our kinsmen that set me on collision course with the then Inspector-General of Police.

    “Now we have taken our time to repackage OPC which has also birthed another organisation with branches in 71 countries. So for us to take an action that won’t make people tag us as warmongers there must be cooperation among stakeholders in Yorubaland.””The Federal Government is now winning the war on Boko Haram majorly because of the support of native people who know the terrain. But our people here find it difficult to swallow their pride or do the right thing at the right time.”

  • Prisons boss under fire for alleged torture of OPC chief in Ekiti

    The immediate past Comptroller of Prisons in Ekiti State, Attahiru Mustapha, is under fire for alleged torture meted out to the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) leader, Adeniyi Adedipe, in custody.

    Adedipe’s lawyer Jamiu Tijani said yesterday that his client was tortured, dehumanised, stripped naked and beaten by armed prison guards under alleged supervision of Mustapha at about 10am on Wednesday.

    Sources at the Ekiti State Command of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) revealed that Mustapha has been transferred to Taraba State, where he will resume office today.

    Tijani called on the NPS National Headquarters, Nigeria Police Headquarters, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to launch an investigation into the incident.

    He insisted that his client, who has been of good behaviour since his detention in prison custody,  committed no offence to warrant the brutality visited on him in prison custody.

    Adedipe, popularly known as Apase, is on trial alongside seven other persons in connection with the murder of the former state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Omolafe Aderiye, on September 25, 2014, a charge which they all denied.

    According to Tijani, he visited the Ado-Ekiti prison facility on Friday for consultation with his client following the brutality under the alleged supervision of Mustapha, wondering why Adedipe was singled out for such treatment.

  • OPC warns herdsmen against attack

    OPC warns herdsmen against attack

    •‘Gani Adams is not our leader’

    Oodu’a Peoples’ Congress (OPC), a Yoruba socio-cultural group has warned herdsmen against continuous attacks on innocent people and communities, saying it would not tolerate killing of farmers in the Southwest.

    The group cautioned the Federal Government against initiating the controversial grazing bill. It said it would  resist the move to promulgate a law that would give privilege to a section of the country.

    Rising from a general meeting held yesterday in Gbagada, Lagos State,  OPC members described the controversial grazing bill as an “insult” to the people.

    Its National Publicity Secretary Shina Akinpelu, said: “It is an insult to collective psyche of Nigerians to hear that a bill is being considered to allow or create grazing zones for the herdsmen. The OPC and the whole Yoruba nation reject such proposition and will resist it with all that we have.”

    The OPC members also called on Otunba Gani Adams to stop parading himself as leader of the group. They accused Adams of trading off the group for personal gains. They all condemned Adam’s style of leadership.

    More than 1,000 members of the group across states attended the meeting. OPC national officers, who attended the meeting, included Chief Boye Mayunpe, Alhaji Amusa Musiliu, Lagos Island chapter Chairman, Alhaji Lateef Oshodi; Oyo State chapter chairman, Chief Adeola Adeagbo and his Kwara and Bayelsa states counterparts, Comrade Moruf Olanrewaju and Comrade Akeem, among others.