Statement By The Government Of Ogun State On The Unfortunate Incidents In Ilaro
The Government of Ogun State views with concern some reports and inferences on the recent incidents in Ilaro, headquarters of Yewa South Local Government of the State. Given the sensitive nature of the incidents and having regard to the implications for public peace and good order, Government wishes to make available to the general public an accurate narrative of the developments in Ilaro.
To this end, Government hereby states as follows:
1. On 5 October 2004, the Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba
Samuel Adekambi Tella withdrew an offer of a chieftaincy title to one Dipo Dina, whose nomination for the title was robustly resisted by the youth of the town. Mr. Dina, a member of the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD) has since claimed that the State Government under the leadership of Otunba Gbenga Daniel prevailed on the Olu-in-Council to withdraw the title. The Olu has corrected this erroneous impression by publicly stating that the withdrawal of the offer of the title was informed solely by the genuine interests of his people and the need to safeguard the cherished customs and traditions of Yewaland from pollution by moneybags of unknown provenance. The Olu has spoken of the need to ensure that only people of good standing with a record of visible and demonstrable contributions to the progress and well being of his domain were conferred with the exalted chieftaincy titles of Yewaland.
2. Despite this clarification by the Paramount Ruler, articles of cheap propaganda were circulated to the press by people who have threatened to make the State ungovernable by whipping up public sentiment against the Government. Throughout the week of 10-17 October, series of meetings were held, attended by fifth column elements and members of the opposition, who saw the stoppage of the title conferment as a threat to the continued supply of cheap funds from gullible politicians. Early this week, the conspirators chanced upon an opportunity to act out their nefarious script, using the cover of complaints of students over the power outage in parts of the town.
3. On Tuesday, 19 October 2004, the wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunke Daniel, in her capacity as Chairperson of Gateway Front Foundation was scheduled to flag off a child de-worming exercise at Iwoye on the outskirts of Ilaro. Unfortunately, Mrs. Daniel could not reach the venue of the exercise where hundreds of children eagerly awaited her arrival. Hoodlums, claiming to be students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro who were protesting power outage during their semester examinations laid siege to the venue of the event, generally making life unbearable for the crowd that had gathered to await the arrival of Mrs. Daniel. The conduct of the mob made the venue unruly and posed a threat to law and order. The law enforcement agents and men of goodwill, therefore felt constrained to resist the affront of the mob, which was promptly dispersed while some arrests were made. But more was to come.
4. Just as her convoy was leaving Ilaro for the final stretch to Iwoye, another mob of hoodlums attacked Mrs. Daniel's convoy, pelting the vehicles with stones and other dangerous weapons and damaging many vehicles in the process. The action of the mob forced Mrs. Daniel and her entourage, largely made up of women and medical officers to turn back and return to Abeokuta, the State capital.
5. On her return to Abeokuta, Mrs. Daniel narrated her experience to the Governor, who decided to proceed to Iwoye for a first-hand assessment of the situation and to ensure that the intended beneficiaries of the de-worming exercise did not wait in vain. As the Governor's convoy entered Ilaro, it also came under a heavy barrage of missiles and gunshots while bonfires were set across the access roads. The convoy was however able to make its way to Iwoye, where the Governor addressed the people who had waited patiently and performed the symbolic de-worming exercise. On the return leg of his journey, the Governor's convoy came under another barrage of attack, which forced him to shelve a courtesy call on the Olu of Ilaro at his palace.
6. It is significant to note that throughout Tuesday 19 October, no life was lost in all the three attacks (twice on the Governor and once on his wife) as policemen in the convoys acted with commendable restraint in the face of extreme provocation. It is, therefore, not true as was claimed in some news reports last Thursday that casualties were recorded during the attacks on the Governor and his wife.
7. It is equally pertinent to mention that from the morning till the afternoon of Tuesday 19 October, a meeting that held in the residence of late Professor Afolabi Olabimtan was attended by both Mr. Dina and Chief Olusegun Osoba, immediate past Governor of the State. It was from this meeting that the mayhem unleashed on the town was being coordinated. The Ogun State chapter of the Alliance for Democracy has since confirmed in its statement of 21 October that the meeting did in fact hold and that "over 2000 party members" were in attendance. Both Chief Osoba and Mr. Dina need to educate Nigerians on how 2000 people could have fit into a private residence. Or could it have been the case that the excess, who could not find space at the meeting were the ones that spilled into the town to spearhead the mayhem? We expect that all the principal characters in the incidents should be able to assist law enforcement agencies to get to the root of the matter.
8. But perhaps most noteworthy is the fact that at no time during these protests that were ostensibly triggered by power outage did the mob visit the offices or any installation of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in the town. NEPA is the agency responsible for electricity. In fact, prior to the incidents, the State Government had been actively involved in efforts to ensure a lasting solution to the problems of electricity supply in Ilaro, and had in fact undertaken to pay for the repairs of the faulty transformer, despite the fact that this was purely the business of NEPA, a Federal agency. Curiously also, the power failure under reference did not affect the campus of the Federal Polytechnic or many of the areas where the students reside.
9. Based on the incidents of Tuesday 19 October, law enforcement agents were put on alert to safeguard lives and property. According to police preliminary reports, on Wednesday, 20 October, the police were attacked by a mob armed with dangerous weapons. In the ensuing melee, four people were reportedly wounded. It has since been confirmed that one person, Azeez Sotayo died as a result of that encounter. Press reports of multiple casualties are clearly based on unsubstantiated reports and we repeat that no fatality was linked to the Tuesday attacks on the convoys of the Governor and his wife.
The Government of Ogun State is saddened by the loss of life in such an unfortunate circumstance. Government has commiserated with the family of the deceased while the Governor promptly dispatched his personal physician, Dr. Oluseyi Sokunbi to hospitals in Ilaro and Abeokuta as soon as reports on the wounded were received.
Government condemns in very strong terms the politics of bitterness that continues to characterize the conduct of elements of the opposition in the State. It is pertinent to note that the same Mr. Dina, who claims to have been a victim of official witch-hunt was just a week earlier conferred with a chieftaincy title by Oba Halidu Laloko, Sobekun II, the Agura of Gbagura in Abeokuta, the State capital. The question here is: Why would a State Government that did not have any problems with the conferment of a chieftaincy title right in the seat of Government object to a conferment in Ilaro?
Government hereby uses this opportunity to call on the law enforcement agencies, community leaders and all men and women of goodwill to work strenuously and sincerely to ensure that peace, which has since returned to Ilaro is maintained.
Mr. Niran Malaolu
Commissioner for Information and Strategy
Ogun State
