By Olusegun Olanrewaju
A leading chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, yesterday described the invasion of the Oyo State House of Assembly complex by the Yoruba Nation agitators as a treasonable act.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the leading opposition party in the country stressed that the agitators cannot take up arms against their government without commiting treason.
George said, “You don’t just go and take up arms against your government, it’s treason.
‘’That they called Amotekun and the police is something; if it were people from my old profession, they would have seen them as enemies and fired at them.’’
He added, “I was completely very angry because that is not the way you talk to your government.
“What could have driven them into that? My conclusion is that they might not be educated. You don’t take up arms against your nation. It’s unimaginable; you brought guns and charms; were they dreaming? It’s unacceptable, it’s the highest breaking of the law of the land.
‘’You have your freedom of speech, which is the most sensible way to approach this problem. The problem is that this thing never leaked to the intelligence of this nation.
“Agitators carried their weapons in military uniforms, and nobody stopped them on the road.
‘’You now see the urgent need for state police, because they could not have been meeting somewhere if we are well organised like the state police.”
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has commended the Nigerian Army and other security agencies for keeping the peace in the state.
Governor Makinde stated this yesterday, when he received the 46th General Officer Commanding of the 2 Mechanised Division, Odogbo Barracks, Ibadan, Major-General Obinna Onubogu, at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan.
The governor, who seized the occasion to throw light on the invasion of the Government Secretariat last Saturday by suspected Yoruba Nation agitators, explained how the effective security system in the state was able to bring the aggressors to their knees in no time.
Makinde commended security agencies in the state for the roles they played in stopping the invaders and apprehending them, stating that the emergency security response system was activated and that it worked perfectly to arrest the situation on time.
He thanked the Nigerian Army and other security agencies for their swift response in arresting the agitators, noting that though there were security gaps, what the miscreants met was beyond their imagination.
“On what happened on Saturday, the Emergency Security Response was activated and it actually worked. The response was quick, timely and I believe the hoodlums and miscreants met something that was beyond their imagination. Within one hour, everything was under control.
“Let me use this opportunity to thank you and other security agencies in the state. Everybody responded timely and we are grateful for the timely response.
“Concerning the unfortunate incident, what I can say is that we must win the war but we must also win peace. It is a challenging period.
“Anybody in the position of authority in this country, whether military, political or governmental positions, even people leading in our communities are challenged at this time because, as a leader, if people you are leading are hungry and angry, we have to put heads together and see how we can minimise some of those causative agents of this type of situation.”
The governor called on the new GOC to sustain the cordial relationship between the 2 Mechanised Division and the government on the one hand and between the Division and the people of the state on the other.
He added that his administration would spare no expense in securing the state and that it would continue to do everything to secure Oyo State by working effectively with the Army and other security agencies in the state.
According to the governor, his vision of developing the state through the four pillars of education, health, security and economic expansion through agribusiness, tourism and solid mineral development cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of insecurity.
“The relationship between the government, the people of Oyo State and the Division, has translated to a relatively secure Oyo State. Please, I don’t want you to relent.”
Speaking earlier, Major-General Onubogu stated that the warm reception accorded him showed the cordial relationship that had always existed between the Oyo State government and the Nigerian Army.
Onubogu, who appreciated Governor Makinde for his tremendous support to the Division over the years, assured the government and residents of the state that the Army would continue to collaborate with sister security agencies to secure Oyo State and its people.
