Igboho: Why South-West govs are afraid to speak out -Lawyer

Olasupo Ojo, the Coordinating counsel for Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Igboho, has said that some governor’s in South-West are scared to make their positions known on Igboho’s arrest and detention.

Ojo, in an interview during PUNCH Online programme, Roundtable, on Wednesday, said many of the governors are under restrictions and limitations.

For instance, he said that the governors are not totally incharge of security in their states despite being addressed as the Chief Security Officer.

He further illustrated that they do not have control over the Commissioners of Police in their states.

However, he cautioned the governors against opposing Yoruba Nation, saying that those of them who fail to support self-determination would regret.

While faulting the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhar (retd.)-led administration for attacking Igboho, he explained that Nigerian government cannot sanction Benin Republic if Igboho is released.

He said, “I should commend Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for saying something. Many of the governors don’t know the value of the position they are holding. When people are clamouring and you pretend as if you don’t know, then something is wrong. A governor who deafens his ears to the clamour of his people will have themselves to blame.

“They have not come out openly, they have their fears. They are under bondage. I pity the governors. They are in chains. “

He lamented that Buhari supported the self-determination of Palestine but ordered the arrest of Yoruba Nation agitators.

The lawyer said, “Incidentally, it is on record that General Buhari also clamoured for self-determination of the northern people in the past. It is also on record that he is advocating for the self-determination of Palestine. He is not opposed to those, but when it comes to the Yoruba Nation, you say unity is non-negotiable. Is it everything that is non-negotiable in life? You cannot force two people to remain together.”

While speaking at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform in September 2015, in New York, the president had urged the United Nations to grant the State of Palestine self-determination to make it a recognised sovereign nation.

Punch