Afenifere has demanded apologies from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for allegedly preventing a state’s chief security officer from quelling a situation that threatened public peace.
This was as the National President of Soludero Hunters Association (SHA), Nureni Akintola, urged monarchs and elders in the country, especially in Yoruba land, to intervene in the face-off.
In a statement made available to The Guardian on Wednesday night, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, condemned the desecration of the federal spirit with which Nigeria is supposed to be governed.
There was a mild exchange between Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and an officer of the Nigerian Police Force (NFP) on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, over the deployment of policemen to Magodo.
Ajayi said: “Afenifere is demanding unreserved apologies from the IGP and AGF for this despicable affront. Not only that, we are demanding the immediate take-off of state police by any state that is ready to establish such. Nigeria should no longer be run as a country under a unitary system of government.”
Also, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation called for the repudiation of all vestiges of a unitary system of government in the country’s political structure, following the confrontation of the police with Governor Sanwo-Olu.
According to Ajayi, the confession by the Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), who led the police team to Magodo, has totally exposed the lie that Nigeria is practising a federal system of government.
“The country is officially called Federal Republic of Nigeria, while the extant constitution dubs each of the state governors as the chief security officer of their respective states. Yet, when Governor Sanwo-Olu wanted to take a step he considered necessary for the issue at hand, an obstacle was put on his way.”
It called for the disbandment and repudiation of all practices that are impeding the practice of true federalism in Nigeria.
SPEAKING to The Guardian in Ibadan, yesterday, Akintola called for wisdom and understanding in handling the matter.
He stressed the need for the country to embrace state police for effective policing in the country.
Said he: “It is imperative to have state police now. If we had state police, what happened would not have happened. The governor is the owner of the state. They should handle it with wisdom.
“If there is state police, only the state government would deploy officers there, not the IGP.
“Obas and elders in South West should intervene before the mater degenerates further. We don’t want a problem.”
