Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, the president of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), has distanced the socio-cultural organisation from the unrest that took place at Ojota, Lagos State in the early hours of today, Monday, January 9.
In a statement signed by OPC’s General Secretary, Comrade Bunmi Fasehun, Afolabi said that the organisation’s initial investigations showed that no member of OPC was involved in the disturbances and none had fallen casualty by omission or commission.
In the statement, Afolabi said “There is absolutely no reason to associate OPC with what happened today in Ojota, Lagos. People were simply talking from the figment of their imagination. Just like any other person, we heard news of the disturbances through social media. When I made phone calls to my members around the axis and elsewhere, they said they knew nothing about the crisis. Afolabi said.
Initial reports and video clips circulated on social media showed that two people might have been shot dead in the crisis that broke out reportedly between police and Yoruba separatist agitators in the Ojota axis in Kosofe Local Government Area of the state.
“Nobody should drag OPC into a matter that does not concern us and today’s problem is none of our business.
“We took to the streets in 1994 to press for the exit of the military and the enthronement of democracy. We have since won democracy. Now we believe that resolution of national questions should come through dialogue. There is nothing that cannot be tabled for discussion, and we will be the last to cause a breakdown of law and order, especially in our home constituency anywhere in the South-West and adjoining states,” the president of OPC said.
Nevertheless, he sued for peace in the Ojota crisis, describing the killings of peaceful protesters as needless.
He said that security agencies must guarantee and respect citizens’ right to life and right to peaceful procession.
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