Suspected Yoruba nation agitators hijack FRCN station in Ibadan, police arrest five

• Akintoye condemns, disowns perpetrators
• Says action criminal, breach of public peace

Some suspected Yoruba Nation agitators, yesterday, hijacked broadcast activities on Amuludun 99.1 FM station in Moniya, Ibadan.

The station, which is located at Moniya, headquarters of Akinyele Local Council, is one of the FM stations of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Radio Nigeria, Ibadan zone.

The Guardian gathered that the suspected agitators, who were about 20, stormed the station with charms at 5:30 a.m. and hijacked the live studio when a sponsored programme was ongoing and commenced live broadcast of their programme.

Claims during their broadcast included “Oodua Nation has come to stay,” “Yoruba no more under Federal Republic of Nigeria,” “United Nations will soon declare Oodua Nation.”

They broadcast for about an hour before the arrival of combined teams of police, Operation Burst and Nigerian Army who were able to recover the station from the agitators, while five suspects were arrested and taken to the Oyo State Police Headquarters, Eleiyele, Ibadan, for interrogation.

Confirming the incident, General Manager of the station, Stephen Agbaje, said security operatives had restored normalcy to the station, adding that Amuludun 99.1 FM had resumed live broadcast of programmes.

Also, the Oyo State Police Command said five suspects had been arrested in connection with the separatists’ attack at the radio station

The state’s Police Commissioner, Adebowale Williams, who disclosed this while briefing journalists at the Police Headquarters, in Ibadan, yesterday, said he had personally detailed an investigation team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to demystify circumstances around the incident and as well expand the network of arrests through thorough, painstaking and intelligence-driven investigation.

Meanwhile, leader of the umbrella body of Yoruba Nation Self-determination Struggle, Prof. Banji Akintoye, yesterday, condemned the invasion of the radio station in Ibadan by a group claiming to be fighting for the liberation of Yoruba people.

In a statement by his Assistant Director of Programmes, Olatunde Amusat, Akintoye described the action of the said group as lawless and criminal.

He said: “The attention of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement has been drawn to the activities of a group led by a woman that has claimed to be running a totally different agenda for Yoruba emancipation and that has been engaging again and again in criminal activity. The group has been warned repeatedly, but has refused to change.

“The Yoruba self-determination group led by me runs a struggle that is totally peaceful and law-abiding.”
“We have no relationship whatsoever with the group that has repeatedly engaged in crime and we have no hands in their criminal conduct.”