Planned Yoruba Nation Lagos rally: Here’s what you need to know
By Despite the warning by the Lagos Police Command to the Yoruba Nation Group (YNG) to steer clear of Lagos, the group has insisted the planned rally for Saturday, July 3, 2021 would go ahead.
Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the Lagos Command, Hakeem Odumosu, supported by Gbenga Omotosho, Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy, at a press conference on Thursday, had declared the planned rally illegal, saying it would not be allowed to hold.
Following Wednesday night attack on the residence of Sunday Igboho, a campaigner for Yoruba self-determination and one of the organisers of the rally, in Ibadan, by operatives of the DSS in which two people were killed, and others whisked to Abuja, Igboho, who escaped the attack, had announced the cancellation of the planned Lagos rally.
But in a twist of events on Friday, Igboho, speaking through his aide, Olayemi Koiki, said although he would not be physically present at the venue, his supporters would proceed with the event.
The Umbrella body of Yoruba Self-Determination Groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, has said that the pro-Yoruba Nation’s rally scheduled to hold in Lagos State on Saturday at the Gani Fawehemi Park, Ojota.
The group, which is headed by a Renowned Historian and Second Republic Member of the Nigerian Senate, Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, made this known in a statement on Friday.
The statement made available by the group’s spokesperson, Maxwell Adeleye, was titled, “Yoruba Nation’s Rally To Hold Tomorrow in Lagos – Ilana Omo Oodua … Writes Sanwoolu, Odumosu, Says “It is the duty of police to ensure the rally is not hijacked by hoodlums”.
But CP Odumosu had warned: “On no account will any actual or rumoured activity, including the planned mega rally, be allowed to lock down the state or hinder the normal daily activities of the good people of Lagos State.”
By Friday evening, the police in Lagos had begun a ‘show of force’ as they took position across the state particularly around Ojota on Ikorodu road.
Investigations by BusinessDay revealed there would be more deployment of security to Ojota and its environs by Saturday, July 2, 2021.
There might also be clashes between the police and the Yoruba Group agitators if they ignore the protest ban.
What may happen and how you can escape being trapped
Traffic disruptions are likely at Ojota, Ikeja, Mile 2 Expressway, Mile 12 Expressway, Ikorodu, Berger, and Obanikoro as protesters might block major roads surrounding these locations. What next? Plan your journeys around these areas to avoid being caught in traffic or exposed to some danger.