Lagos: Sanwo-Olu Denies Yoruba People By Dumping them In Osun Forest-Group

For repatriating many Yoruba out of Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has come under criticism from the people and groups from the south west.

One of such groups, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorúbá said in a statement on Sunday slammed the governor for sending the people back to their state rather than proving support for them.

The reaction comes on the back of recent allegation by some people who said they were raided by police in Lagos, and later dumped in the forest in Osun state.

Hundreds of Yoruba people, according to the allegation, were rounded up in various places in the state, dragged into police vehicles and relocated to another state without their consents.

Some of those making the alleagtion said they were seriously warned by the police not to return to Lagos.

Reacting to the incident, the association which said it’s fighting for the interest of Yoruba demanded the immediate return of the people by the government, adding that the action is a rebellion and detrimental to the ethnic group in their own region.

Olusola Oluwasweyi, the Convener who signed the statement said driving out Yoruba from their region is “a violation of (their)rights,” that will not be condoned.

The association said it’s the right of Yoruba to reside in any part of the south west of their choice, it’s unhappy “to witness our people being crammed like crayfish and abandoned in an uncompleted building by security agencies.”

Why should the Yoruba not be allowed to live in any part of the region after embracing other people from all parts of the country, the group said, adding that Sanwo-olu a Yoruba man has denied his own people.

Part of the statement reads: “Yoruba people are known for their wholehearted embrace and accommodation of others, but Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s actions have shown that he is not a good representative of the Yoruba people.

“It is extremely disheartening to witness our people being crammed like crayfish and abandoned in an uncompleted building by security agencies at the Makoko police station before relocating them to a forest in Ilesha town, Osun State.

“We are not violent people, but we won’t let anybody look down on or humiliate our people. Our community is currently at risk, possibly in the hands of kidnappers.

“Our people have stopped farming; they abandoned their farmland due to the incessant killings and kidnappings by Fulani herdsmen. Yet, the Lagos State government is also threatening their lives, leaving them with nowhere to go,” the group said.