A National Leader of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Comrade Adesina Akinpelu, has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for failing to address the worsening insecurity faced by Yorubas in the North Central region, particularly in Kwara South, during his nationwide broadcast marking Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary.
In his address, President Tinubu highlighted his administration’s commitment to defeating Boko Haram in the North-East, IPOB/ESN in the South-East, and banditry in the North-West. He also declared that peace has returned to many communities previously overrun by terrorists.
But Akinpelu faulted the omission of Kwara South from the President’s remarks, describing it as evidence of the Federal Government’s insensitivity to the plight of Yorubas in the region.
He lamented that villages including Oreke, Babalola, Sagbe, Babasango, Alasoro, and Olorunte in Ile-Ire District of Ifelodun Local Government have been seized by armed Fulani bandits. According to him, the criminals have expanded their attacks to Oyetedo/Oro-Ago District, where they killed Chief Depo Aina Kebe in his hotel and abducted one Mr. Tunde Olaoye, who remains in captivity despite ransom payment.
Akinpelu further alleged that bandits invaded Oke-Ode town last Sunday, killing 20 people in cold blood. Among the victims, he said, was Abdullahi Olowonla, a retired OPC pillar from Lagos State who had recently relocated to his hometown in Ifelodun.
“It appears that the Federal Government and Governor AbdulRahman Abdul-Razaq do not care about the security of Yorubas in Kwara South,” the OPC leader stated.
Using the independence anniversary as a call to action, Akinpelu urged President Tinubu, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and service chiefs to urgently restore peace in Kwara South, home state of the Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Lateef Fagbemi.
He pledged that the OPC is ready to support the Federal Government in tackling the insecurity and called on all factions of the organization—including those led by late Dr. Frederick Fasehun, Iba Gani Adams, the New Era, and OPC Reformed groups—to unite in defending Yoruba communities in Kwara South.
