TheNewsGuru

Tag: Afenifere

  • Afenifere invokes Olakunrin’s spirit to fish out her murderers

    …Blasts Police for stopping investigation

    A factional Pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, on Tuesday urged the police to find the killers of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin.

    The group in a communique after its meeting held in Akure, the Ondo State capital, expressed disgust with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that almost seven months after the murder of its leader’s daughter, the late Mrs. Olakunrin, the police have stopped any form of investigation into the dastardly act without any briefing to the family .

    It said: “We are left with no option at this stage but to conclude that she was a victim of political assassination necessitating state cover-up.”

    Afenifere challenged the police to do their job on the matter in spite of their disappointment with them.

    The group invoked Olakunrin’s spirit to remain restless until the killers and mastermind of her death are exposed and brought before the temple of justice .

    According to the communique, only carpenters posing as lawyers will ever say that security is on any exclusive list, as there is no law that stops individuals from securing their premises, let alone state actors.

    The group rejected any attempt to subsume Amotekun under the community policing scheme of the Federal Government.

    Afenifere maintained that Amotekun should be independent in carrying out the security of residents of South West with defined operational cooperation with the police but not its subordinate.

    “While Amotekun has now come to stay there must be no let or hindrance in the pursuit of a federal Nigeria so we can revert to the multi-level policing status of Nigeria of the past which saw the Nigerian Railway corporation having it’s own police.

    “In this regard ,we are happy with the Senate President ,Senator Ahmed Lawan declaration of support for issues in Federalism especially multi-level policing and we enjoin the National Assembly to see it as the urgent business of now”

    The group hailed the South West Governors for standing firm on Yoruba consensus on Amotekun without blinking.

    It equally appreciated other groups such as Ohaneze,PANDEF and Middle Belt Forum for standing solidly with the project as well as

    Prof Wole Soyinka ,Chief Afe Babalola (SAN),Alhaji Abubakar Atiku,Prof Itse Sagay(SAN), Femi Falana,and others.

    The communique also condemned in the strongest terms the lawlessness in Oyo State over local council dissolution.

  • ‘You’re still neutral’, Afenifere faults Tinubu’s statement on Amotekun

    ‘You’re still neutral’, Afenifere faults Tinubu’s statement on Amotekun

    Kole Omololu, the National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, has criticised Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s position on the South-west Security Network code-named Operation Amotekun.

    Following criticisms by groups and Yoruba elders on his silence about the security initiative, Tinubu issued a statement on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, to express his views on the controversial subject.

    Reacting to the statement, Omololu said the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was playing “political neutrality” at the detriment of security and unity of Yorubas in the South-West.

    In a statement made available to pressmen, the Afenifere Secretary described Tinubu’s statement on Amotekun as a pile of waffle, adding that the politician “refused to comment on other para-military forces like Hisbah and civilian JTF in the north.”

    Omololu’s statement reads, “His Excellency, Asiwaju’s statement is what is called political correctness. Leaders should talk boldly on a precarious situation.

    “He did not read between the lines that the AGF’s statement is that of panic. Panic in the sense that the Amotekun phenomena unify the Yoruba Nation, regardless of political affiliations.

    “It has the total and absolute support of all the children of Oduduwa and also other nationalities apart from the Fulanis.

    “It is a unity that is dangerous for a government that is nepotic and whose agenda on true federalism is not clear.

    “The Yoruba Nation is an utterly and incredibly resilient one. We are focused and not dissuaded by any statement by one million Bola Ahmed Tinubu when we know we are just and sincere.

    “Asiwaju’s statement is a pile of waffle, a dubious exercise in self-seeking sophistry and equivocation.”

    Since Amotekun was launched by South-west governors on Wednesday, January 9, 2020, the security initiative has been embroiled in many controversies.

  • Police detain Afenifere chieftain for obstructing Osinbajo’s convoy

    A chieftain of pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere has apologised for unknowingly obstructing the convoy of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo earlier today in Ikoyi, Lagos state, police sources have said.

    The National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, Abagun Kole Omololu, was earlier held by Lagos Police for breaching the convoy of the Vice President.

    Omololu explained to the police that he had no sinister intentions and did not plan to harm the Vice President or his convoy.

    He added that it was dark and he did not know that the convoy was long so he decided to drive on.

    According to the police, he breached the convoy of the Vice President without knowing he had done so. He was then stopped and informed that he had driven into a moving convoy.

    In what the police sources termed a security breach, the Afenifere chieftain drove his vehicle and obstructed the movement of the convoy.

    “This is a security matter. He didn’t know it was the Vice President’s convoy before he drove his vehicle into the convoy.

    “This was seen as a security breach and action needed to be taken immediately,” the police sources said.

    Another police source said he was never arrested, he was only held for questioning.

    “We needed to be sure he didn’t have a motive for his action. This is standard police protocol and he was not harassed either.

    The police source explained that he was released afterwards and allowed to go.

    An eyewitness at the scene, Olasunkanmi Oladele explained that other commuters were also warning the owner of the car.

    In a tweet, he said was also behind the convoy in Ikoyi.

    “I was following from a distance the convoy of the Vice President in Lagos when a man broke into the convoy. We should respect authority and stop trying to make people look bad,” he said.

    The police said the matter has since been resolved and that the Vice President was unaware of what happened.

  • Killer herdsmen must leave Southwest now or face hostility – Afenifere

    The Pan-Yoruba Socio-political organisation, Afenifere has ordered killer Fulani herdsmen to leave Southwest now or face serious confrontation.
    The organisation stated that about 30,000 people had been killed due to activities of killer herdsmen between 2015 and 2019.
    At a news conference on Wednesday in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, one of the leaders of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said the decision was taken following the killing of the daughter of Afenifere’s leader, Reuben Fasoranti, Olufunke Olakunrin by suspected herdsmen.
    Adebanjo warned the National Assembly “not to amend the Land Use Act with the intent to change the predominance of land allocation in states to the federal government to allow RUGA’s implementation. We demand their immediate exit from Yoruba land. If they refused to leave in reasonable time, we will not stop our people from confronting them.
    “Yoruba land has now become the epicenter of the terror of these Fulani marauders and our people are fed up with the shedding of innocent blood that is quite anathema to our respect for human life which would see us remembering those who died peacefully 50 years down the line.”
    He expressed disappointment with the refusal of the federal government to allow elected governors have state police, while on the other hand permitting the setting up Fulani bandit -vigilantes on Yoruba soil in addition to the Fulani militias terrorising the same land.
    “We are miffed that those who will not allow our elected governors have police are now setting up Fulani bandit -vigilantes on our soil in addition to the Fulani militias terrorizing our land,” he said.
    He, therefore, lamented that about 30,000 people “have been killed by the Fulani herdsmen/militia across the country between 2015 and 2019. Apart from not bringing them to book, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has taken so many steps which betray the encouragement being given to these troublers of Nigeria.”
    “We cannot continue to live under these conditions. The blood of our people will no longer be used to water the tree of a dysfunctional unitary order,” he added.
    Adebanjo called for an immediate timeline for a return to a federalist Nigeria that would allow for autonomy for each state to run its internal affairs, saying that the activities of Fulani herdsmen/bandits/kidnappers and other miscreants would have been effectively dealt with if the governors as Chief Security officers of their states had control of the security agencies.
    He said with the current proposed security budget for 2019 is N1.76 trillion, a devolved entity would have enabled better utilization of part of that expenditure; particularly in the over N300b for policing which was further subsidised by the state governments’ additional allocations and over N600b intended for internal affairs.
    According to Adebanjo, the past few years had been troubling for the country as “we have witnessed mass killings of people in the country, most of which have been linked to Fulani herdsmen/militia and the Nigerian state has not been able to dispel the allegations by unraveling the brains behind the killings and applying the law against them.
    “We demand an immediate timeline for a return to a federalist Nigeria so that we can have autonomy to run our internal affairs and failure to do so will constrain our capacity to continue to restrain our people from embracing self-determination.
    “We task the government to find the real killers of Olakunrin and not the innocent people that the communities around where she was killed have alleged are being randomly arrested and put an end to the genocide in our zone and across the country.”
    Adebanjo said the federal government had been careless and insensitive in the handling the menace of Fulani herdsmen in the country.
    “First, it was outright denial it was engaged in by saying those carrying AK-47 riffles about and killing people were foreign Fulani. The President specifically said they were Gaddafi’s men let loose from Libya and yet they were not arresting them.
    “Next they moved to accuse people of spreading hate speech against the local Fulani. It got to a ridiculous stage that when Miyetti Allah is accused of any crime, it is either the Ministry of Information or Presidential spokespersons becoming the mouthpiece of the group. It is now clear we Yoruba have had enough-as the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo and Prof Wole Soyinka and other Yoruba patriots have warned,” he said.
    However, Adebanjo addressed the conference alongside other Afenifere leaders, including Prof Banji Akintoye, Prof. Akin Osuntokun, Dr. Femi Okunrounmu, Chief Supo Shonibare, Alhaji Sola Lawal and Mr. Yinka Odumakin.

  • BREAKING: Suspected herdsmen kill Afenifere chairman's daughter, abduct others

    Daughter of the leader of the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Mrs Funke Olakunrin was on Friday reportedly shot dead by suspected kidnappers in Ore, headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
    Sources said the deceased was coming from the Lagos end of the Benin/Ore road when her car was attacked by the kidnappers suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state Police command, Femi Joseph confirmed the incident.
    He said the suspects were kidnappers who also engaged in armed robbery.
    The incident, he said happened between Kajola and Ore, adding that Mrs Olakunrin was the only one killed in the incident.
    He said three vehicles including a luxurious bus belonging to the Young Shall Grow Motors were attacked by the kidnappers, adding that the passengers in the luxurious bus were travelling from Imo State to Lagos.
    However, he said the Police have rescued three of the victims, adding that one Gerald Igboroka was yet to be found by the police.
    Joseph said “information available to us is that suspected kidnappers who were 16 in number ambushed the three vehicles at Kajola.
    “The three vehicles were said to be going to Lagos and they were all attacked,” he added.
    The PPRO who said the Police were on the trail of the kidnappers, assured that the victims would be rescued in no distant time.
    He said none of the suspected kidnappers has been arrested, but efforts are on top gear to ensure their arrest, saying that the police have already condoned the location.

  • Buhari, Afenifere meet in Aso Rock

    Buhari, Afenifere meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with Afenifere leaders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting started around 2.58pm at the Council Chamber.

    Those at the meeting included the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Pa Ayo Fasanmi, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba.

    Others included Former Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, Pius Akinyelure.

    Also at the meeting were Chief Kemi Nelson, and Laoye Tomori.

  • Afenifere, Ohanaeze, Northern Elders, Niger Delta Forum reject Buhari’s re-election

    The Forum of Nigerian Leaders and Elders has rejected the poll that reelected President Muhammadu Buhari for another four years on February 23, 2019.

    The Forum, made up of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Middle Belt Forum, made its position known in a statement signed by their leaders, including Chief E. K. Clark, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief John Nwodo and Dr. Pogu Bitrus.

    The statement said: “The Forum of Nigerian Leaders and Elders has reviewed major developments leading to the February 23rd Presidential elections, the management of the electoral process and the conduct and announced outcome of the elections.

    “The Forum commends the statesmanship and commitment to the democratic process of the PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON, Wazirin Adamawa to exhaust the entire democratic process by challenging the results in the courts as provided for in the constitution. We see his decision as patriotic, responsible and ultimately the highest contribution to the democratic system. Some other person would by now be soaking ‘baboons and dogs in blood.”

    The Forum said it observed that the election was fraught with massive irregularities and outright abuse of the electoral laws, the rules and regulations of the Independent National Electoral Commission as well as the failure of security forces to remain neutral and operate within the highest standards of their calling.

    It said: “The Peace Accord was ridiculed by deliberate and open abuse of organs of the state, the denial of rights of many citizens to vote and blatant abuse of all the commitments made by the administration.

    To decline to challenge obviously fictional figures, failures to respect key elements of the electoral process such as use of Smart Card Readers and preventing agents and observers access to all processes is to condone the massive setback which this election represents for the country.

    “The outcome of the elections were clearly premeditated in the refusal of the President to sign the Electoral Act and the orchestrated suspension of Justice Walter Onoghen as the CJN shortly before the composition of Electoral Tribunals.

    “The Forum calls on the judiciary to uphold the highest standards of integrity and commitment to its hallowed role by doing justice to the appeals that will come before it knowing that the eyes of the world would be on them.

    We are aware that attempts are being made to demoralize and intimidate the judiciary to remove a conducive context for litigations. We remind the judiciary that it is the last defence of our democratic process.

    “We appeal to all Nigerians to continue to show faith in the democratic process and remain law-abiding as we await the decisions of the judiciary on a matter that will ultimately determine the quality of our democratic process and the nature of the nation we all call our own.

    “We recall that in endorsing the candidature of Atiku for the election, we did anchor our support on identifying a candidate among many good candidates we interacted with who can retool Nigeria to move on the path of development as a true federal entity ,the pattern of voting in areas where there were semi-free elections showed an overwhelming endorsements of our position by popular votes. And the polls results have shown further a badly divided polity that needs a unifier and not a divisive person as a leader.

    “We insist Nigerians must stand firm and ensure that they are governed by a legitimate leadership.”

  • Buhari, Osinbajo not sincere about restructuring Nigeria – PDP, Afenifere, Ohanaeze, others

    Buhari, Osinbajo not sincere about restructuring Nigeria – PDP, Afenifere, Ohanaeze, others

    Some groups have faulted comments credited to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the trending restructuring debate in the country.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); a Yoruba organisation, Afenifere; the Ohanaeze Ndigbo; the Yoruba Council of Elders; and the Transparency International all have issues with the position of the president and vice president as regards the restructuring debate.

    Recall that Buhari had during an interactive session with Nigerians living in France on Monday taken a swipe at advocates of restructuring, saying they were lazy and let loose.

    The President had claimed that those calling for restructuring had been doing so without defining what the restructuring should be.

    Recall also that Osinbajo had while delivering a lecture to mark the 40th anniversary of a Lagos social club, Association of Friends, in Lagos claimed that the idea of geographical restructuring which is the common notion about restructuring “is not achievable.”

    Buhari had said, “There are too many people talking lazily about restructuring in Nigeria. Unfortunately, people are not asking them individually what do they mean by restructuring? What form do they want restructuring to take?

    “Do they want us to have something like the three regions we used to have? And now we have 36 states and the FCT. What form do they want? They are just talking loosely about restructuring.

    “Let them define it and then we see how we can peacefully do it in the interest of Nigerians.

    “They are just saying they want Nigeria restructured and they don’t have the clue of what the form the restructuring should be.

    “So, anybody who talks to you about restructuring in Nigeria, ask him what he means and the form he wants it to take.”

    But the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondu in a reaction said the latest statements credited to Buhari and Osinbajo further confirmed the present administration as a government of deceit and disagreement.

    The party chairman said, “Recall that the ruling party itself set up a committee on restructuring. What came out of the committee after the governors and other members of the committee went round the country, collating views of innocent Nigerians who never knew they were being deceived by this deceitful government? Nothing!

    “Now, the Vice-President is saying he is in support of state police which his boss has rejected. You can see that the Vice-President is on his own. The disunity in this government reminds us the seed of discord the government has planted in Nigerians.

    “But in the real sense of it, does he (Vice-President) support state police? Can he be taken seriously? Let Nigerians decide.”

    Also, the Afenifere’s spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, in an interview with one of our correspondents also said the statements credited to Buhari and Osinbajo meant they were either slow at learning or they were being mischievous.

    He said advocates of restructuring had over the years made the issues very clear on what the call was all about.

    He added that the development had made it important that future Nigeria’s Presidents and Vice-Presidents should study hard so that they could understand issues around them.

    Odumakin said, “…It is strange that these people have been here all these years and they are saying those who are talking about restructuring did not define it or that they are talking loosely.

    “It is either these people are slow at learning or they cannot understand issues around them. We have made the issues very clear on what the call for restructuring is about.

    “We have said Nigeria was a federal state at independence but the military came and distorted it and that we should go back to federalism; that we cannot have a country like Nigeria and maintain one single police and we will say we have security; that there should be state police.

    “We have spelt out all we meant by restructuring over the years. So for the President and Vice-President to say they do not understand what we are talking about is either they are slow at learning or they are being mischievous.”

    In the same vein, the spokesman for the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Uche Achi-Okpaga, in an interview said Buhari’s statement was meant to divert attention.

    Achi-Okpaga expressed surprise that while Buhari and other APC stalwarts were talking about restructuring ahead of the 2015 presidential election, the President became “completely ignorant and bereft of the tenets of restructuring” shortly after he was inaugurated as President.

    He said, “During the electoral campaigns of 2015, restructuring was glued to the lips of the President and other APC stalwarts and foot soldiers. However, no sooner was he sworn in than he became completely ignorant and bereft of the tenets of restructuring.

    “In the heat of the impasse, the APC, as a party, set up a committee on restructuring headed by Governor el-Rufai of Kaduna State. The committee ticked good on restructuring and sent her report to the presidency.

    “Instead of dealing with the document the President sent the report to the dustbin as it never saw the light of the day and turned around to state that those clamouring for restructuring, including his party that so recommended, are parochial.”

    Also, the Secretary-General of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Dr Kunle Olajide, in an interview said it was worrisome that the two key leaders of the ruling APC could claim ignorance of what restructuring was about after their party had earlier set up a committee on the matter.

    He wondered if the country was dealing with a case of memory loss.

    Olajide insisted that the positions of advocates of restructuring were clear and unambiguous.

    He said, “I was surprised after reading the responses of the two leading figures in the APC and present administration on restructuring agitators. It is worrisome that an APC figure could come out to claim ignorance of what restructuring is all about. Are we dealing with a case of amnesia here?

    He said, “I appeal to them to take a second look at the el-Rufai committee report on restructuring. It is their party that set it up and they should come up with how it will be implemented instead of talking about what restructuring means. Our position is clear and unambiguous on it.”

  • Osun governorship poll: Afenifere suspends Omisore for supporting APC

    The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, on Tuesday, announced the suspension of the candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore for one year.

    Omisore was alleged to have aligned with the All Progressives Congress to win the rerun election in Ife South and North Local Government Areas of Osun State. His action was said to have gone against the position of his party, the Social Democratic Party and the Afenifere.

    Omisore’s suspension was part of the decisions taken at the monthly meeting of the Afenifere, held at the residence of its leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    In a communique issued at the end of the meeting and read by a chieftain of the group, Chief Korede Duyile, the group said Omisore allegedly went against the position of Afenifere during the last governorship election in Osun State.

    The group had earlier decided not to support the All Progressives Congress at the Osun governorship and the forthcoming general elections.

    Afenifere said in the communique, ” The meeting took a decision to suspend Senator Iyiola Omisore for one year for violating Afenifere’s directive which affected the outcome of Osun election.”

  • 2019: Obasanjo holds secret talks with Afenifere leaders in Akure [Photos]

    As the 2019 election year approaches, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday visited leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, at the residence of the leader of the group, Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State.

    The meeting, which lasted for almost 30 minutes, had the former President calling for the cooperation of the group to save Nigeria from collapsing.

    Speaking during the visit, Obasanjo commended the Afenifere for being at the forefront of fighting for the interest of the Yoruba nation while he was working towards the interest of the country as a whole, noting that the two parties were working towards the same goals of fostering unity among the people of the country but on a different pedestal.

    The former President recalled how he had visited the leadership of the group some 20 years ago, seeking the group’s support for his election but said he was rejected by the group.

    He said, “I remember visiting Pa Abraham Adesanya thrice in Lagos before the 1999 election and I was asked to join Afenifere and Alliance for Democracy then, but I told them that AD was a cul-de-sac.

    “Pa Abraham told me that if I joined, things would change; but I refused to join them. I went back the second time, but they refused to work for my emergence.

    “I went there again the third time, but Afenifere maintained their stand. They refused to vote for me; but I secured my votes outside Yorubaland, though they supported me in 2003 for my re-election.

    “Our priority is now one. If we do not join hands to repair this country now, it will collapse and this could be disastrous.”

    The Afenifere leader, Pa Fasoranti, while responding, said the visit of the former President was historic and first in about 20 years, adding that the Yoruba group was in support of the ex-President’s moves to achieve peaceful and virile Nigeria.

    He commended Obasanjo for his struggle to make Nigeria a better place, assuring him of the support of Afenifere to join hands with him in the struggle

    Fasoranti said, “We want to encourage you in your struggle to make Nigeria the best. You are fearless and that is one of the traits of a good leader

    “We have been watching you; and your dreams of a better Nigeria shall be realised.

    “Nigerians are at a crossroads; we are tired of the killings, kidnapping going on across the country and the President is mute about it.

    “We are in full support of all the letters written by Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation. We are dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country. The country is not being run properly.

    “Nothing is being done properly in this country presently. Look at the killings in the North. The President is very silent about it.

    “We are all Nigerians. If he can keep silence about the killing of his people, that is bad enough.”

    The Afenifere leader declared that the group was in total support of the coalition of political parties to forge alliance against President Muhammadu Buhari in the next general election.

    “It will be the joy of everybody to present a formidable team to confront the evil government that is there now,” Fasoranti stated.