We won’t allow Miyetti Allah take over Yorubaland — Gani Adams, YCE, others

By OLUSEYE OJO, Ibadan

Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has said the threat by Miyetti Allah Koutal Horeto establish a 5,000 members vigilance group in the 36 states can lead the country towards anarchy.   

Adams, who stated this in an interview with Saturday Sun, said the Federal government should quickly call the Fulani group to order.

He spoke just as the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) alleged that the rumpus being created by Fulani herdsmen across the country in the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other groups is nothing but a plan to take other people’s land by force.

Said Adams: “Our people can’t go to their farms again. There is much security threat. It has caused famine in the land. Establishing a vigilante group by the Fulani in other people’s land is driving the country towards anarchy and nobody has a monopoly of violence.

“They are condemning Amotekun and Ebubeagu. But it is only criminals that will have the fear for any region to have their internal security outfits. Why is Miyethi Allah challenging anything that happens in other regions? I think the Federal Government should not take their statement likely. If they do, it can affect the government.

“If they want to organize a security outfit, it should be to help and support the government and not to work against the government. Have the Yoruba or the Igbo in Kano organised a parallel security outfit against Hisbah? No Yoruba community has said it wants to tackle Hisbah, because they know that Hisbah is serving the state government and the state government has the right to protect the interest of the people. Miyethi Allah is making a statement that can cause crisis in the country,” he stated.

Secretary-General of the YCE, also known as ‘Igbimo Agba Yoruba,’ Dr. Kunle Olajide, said the Yoruba in the South West of the country are aware of the grand plan and would not allow such invasion.

He described the proposed deployment of vigilante by the group across Nigeria, including the South West, as an absolutely bogus and a criminal trespass that Yorubaland would not take with levity.

Olajide stated that as law-abiding citizen, one could go to any part of the country because the freedom of movement is guaranteed under the constitution without fear of being molested. He added that the Yorubaland has not deviated from this, and that the claim that Yoruba have been killing Fulani is absolutely false.

On the proposed deployment of Miyetti Alla vigilantes across the country, he stated that the forest in the South West, comprising Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States, belong to the state governments in the South West and not the Federal Government.

Also speaking, Chairman of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Gen Kunle Togun (retd), a former Director of Military Intelligence and Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service, simply said: “Let the Miyetti Allah leader come out and give names of the Fulani that he said Amotekun Corps has killed and where?”

On the deployment of Miyetti Allah vigilante, Togun, responded: “It has been long that they have been talking about it. We know they have vigilantes, and we know who their vigilantes are. So, how can they come and have vigilantes across the country? Are they government? As far as I am concerned, I don’t think any governor in South West is going to allow any vigilantes from Miyetti Allah to operate in any state in Yorubaland.  (Saturday SUN)