Wives of detained operatives of Osun Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest to the Ooni of Ife’s palace in Osun, seeking intervention for the release of their detained husbands.
The protesters, seeking Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi’s intervention, carried placards with inscriptions like: “Children of Detained Innocent Amotekun are Fenied School; “Oonirisa Please Intervene as Head of Yoruba Race, among others”.
The women described their action as a desperate plea for justice, asking the state government and those in the position of authority to intervene, so that their husbands could regain their freedom.
One of the protesters, Mrs. Omolola Adedokun, who addressed journalists, appealed to the Ooni to use his moral authority and influence to secure the release of their husbands.
Adedokun disclosed that the women had earlier submitted petitions to the Osun House of Assembly and other relevant authorities, while no concrete resolution was achieved so far.
Mrs Oroniyan Fatima, another protester, said the continuous detention of her husband had brought about untold hardship to her and her four children.
She maintained that her husband, Oroniyan Damilare, was innocent, adding that he was not on duty when the alleged Akinlalu incident happened.
“My husband is always crying anytime I speak with him on phone and he is also in need of medical care because he is not feeling well,” she said.
Similarly, Mrs Oyewole Oluwaseyi, said the Akinlalu incident led to the razing down of her husband’s father’s house.
She said her husband, Oyewole Ebenezer, from Akinlalu village, was picked up by the police, while the villagers, in the process burnt down his father’s house.
Oluwaseyi claimed that her husband had nothing to do with the killings in Akinlalu village, adding that he and his family were just being punished for a crime they knew nothing about.
She appealed to the Federal Government and the Police to look into the matter again and do the needful, so that her husband and others could regain their freedom.
The Arode of Ife, High Chief Kayode Awofiranye, who spoke on behalf of the Ooni’s Palace, informed the protesters that Ogunwusi was out of the town.
He assured them that their concerns would be conveyed to the Ooni and urged them to return at a later date.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 25 Osun Amotekun operatives were arrested and taken to Abuja in October by the Police, following the alleged killings of three persons in Akinlalu village by Amotekun operatives.
