By YSO Olaniyi
The Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) strongly condemns the attack on the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Tuesday. YCYW describes the action of the assailant as sacrilegious, provocative and unpardonable threat to the highest spiritual stool of authority in Yoruba land and calls on the the Southwest Governors to secure the Palace with Amotekun guards.
On Tuesday night, one Wasiu Daramola late smashed two gates and forced his way to the Oodua’s palace which housed the dwelling house of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi with a formatic C-class Mercedes Benz.
According to an eyewitness, Wasiu drove the vehicle with Abuja registration number RBC 699 JA wrecklessly, pulled down the two gates and smashed cars parked in the compound. The source added that several gunshots were heard around the palace before the driver was arrested by the police.
In a press statement signed by its President, Aare Oladotun Hassan Esq., and made available to the Pacesetter News, the YCYW said it received worrisome news with grave shock and disbelief. The Yoruba youth group saluted the courage and professionalism displayed by the palace security guards in overpowering the dreaded assailants, whose evil mission is yet to be unraveled.
The youth group called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order for a thorough investigation to be headed by the Inspector General of Police and ensure anyone found culpable is prosecuted.
Part of the statement reads, “Also, we call on all critical stakeholders particularly all governors, elders, women, youths, political and traditional leaders of the Southwest Zone to collectively call for an emergency security meeting over these heinous crime, pending which adequate watertight security beef up and non-stop surveillance system is put in place at the Palace and all other palaces too, while demanding and ensuring to provide the best team of well trained and powerfully fortified central palace security guards”.
“We call for an immediate construction of Ile-ife city gate with bold entry gate with CCTV cameras and other monitoring features, while mounting of same mini gates at the other entry and exit points: Ede, Osu- Ilesha and Ondo routes”
The group proposed that the Palace Guards should be drawn from each state regiments of Amotekun Security Network to collaborate and provide maximum security for Oonirisa forthwith.
“We believe this is the handiwork of evil provocateur, hell bent to cause monumental chaos in Yoruba Land” the statement concluded.
