Akintoye says pro Oodua Nation rallies will hold as police threaten
Says “Any Attempt to stop rally unlawful
By Samuel Ogunsona
Pan Yoruba Self-Determination Group, Ilana Omo Oodua, has said the Yoruba self determination rallies scheduled to begin in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital will go on as scheduled http://news.irohinodua.org/akintoye-says-pro-oodua-nation-rallies-will-hold-as-police-threaten/
The group’s insistence is coming amidst police threat that the event cannot take place.
Ilana led by erudite Professor of History, Prof Banji Akintiye described the threat by the Ogun State Police Command as a declaration of war.
A statement signed by Maxwell Adeyemi on behalf of the group said the rally promises to be peaceful, lawful and make decorum its watchword throughout the duration of the rally on Saturday
He said the group, being led by a second republic member of the senate and renowned Professor of History, Banji Akintoye has called on organisations such as the Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), International Press Council (IPC), Socio – Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP) and all local and international media organisations to attend the rally as observers.
Adeleye described the claims by the Ogun State Police Spokesperson, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, that previous rallies organised by the organisation were violent, as an absolute mendacity, and a fallacious attempt to paint the organisation in a bad light.
“We read with total disbelief, a statement credited to the Ogun State Police Command that our Pro-Yoruba nation Nation’s rally scheduled to hold in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital tomorrow will not be allowed to hold. We want to believe the statement of the police is a joke. However, if the Police was serious about the threat, we want to let the the authorities in Ogun State know that our rally will go ahead as scheduled because the police have no power under the law to deny us of our rights to self-determination and peaceful assembly.
“We at Ilana Omo Oodua considers the statement as a declaration of war against our rights to self-determination, peaceful assembly and speech as guaranteed by the United Nations and African Union Charters on Human Rights which Nigeria is a signatory to.
“We want to assure the police that we shall hold our demonstration very peacefully, lawfully and orderly tomorrow, and we warn that any attempt to stop the rally shall be challenged legally, logically and Internationally.
“Morealso, we say, for the sake of those who may have been cajoled by the claims of the Police that previous Pro-Yoruba Nation’s rallies in Ogun State were violent and disturbed the peace of the state, that Ilana Omo Oodua, under the leadership of Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, has never been violent in its approach, and the facts are out there already.
“To assure the police that we are indeed peaceful, and we shall continue to be peaceful, lawful and orderly, we hereby use this opportunity to invite organisations such as the Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), International Press Council (IPC), Socio – Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP), and all local and international media organisations to attend the rally tomorrow as observers”, the statement, concluded.