Four members of the Yoruba Nation movement have been arrested for seizing a radio station in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Early Sunday morning, the four arrested suspects were among many other Yoruba Nation agitators that occupied the Amuludun FM 99.1, an affiliate of Radio Nigeria, in Ibadan, and took over of the station’s broadcast for about one hour.
The agitators, armed with charms, were said to have stormed the station around 5:40am in an 18-seater bus.
They reportedly threatened to deal with the radio station’s staff member if they would not cooperate with them.
On sighting the security team of the men of the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Army, the agitators attempted to run away to escape arrest.
Some of the agitators ran into the radio station’s studio and others fled in different directions but four of them, a woman and three men, were arrested.
Some of them reportedly sustained injuries from the gunshot wounds of the security men as blood stain are noticed on the wall of of the studio.
A staff, who narrated how the station were hijacked by the agitators, told newsmen that “They held some night duty staff and security guards hostage, the agitators hijacked the studio and announced live on radio ‘Welcome to Yoruba Nation.’
“They continued to threaten staff members to remove all Nigeria flags in the station and replace them with Yoruba Nation flags as they have already taken over the Government Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
“Initially, they hijacked some commercial vehicles (Micra) to block the main road,” a staff stated.
Also, the most senior staff on duty, Ajayi Omotola, said: “They told us that they are Yoruba Nation agitators. And in their T-shirt, there was that inscription there. They wrote Yoruba Nation. Only six persons came inside the studio with different charms threatening to kill us if we failed to cooperate. Others were outside manning security at different areas within the premises.
“They collected all our phones and threatened to kill us if we made any noise or phone calls. They said they wanted to broadcast live that Yoruba Nation has taken over. We should remove all Nigeria flags in our studio and replace it with their own. They didn’t allow anybody to go outside. The Area Commander came, addressed and even pleaded with them but they ignored him. We later heard sporadic shooting outside. So, one of our staff members then came inside to inform us that police and soldiers had arrived.”
Meanwhile, fierce-looking security men have taken over the radio station at J&P Bus Stop, Moniya in Akinyele Local Government Area, to there is no further brake down of law and order.
