The Yoruba self-determination rally organised by the Ilana Omo Oodua eventually held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday.
The rally held despite Mapo Hall, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the original venue for the event, blocked to human and vehicular movement by operatives of the Oyo State Police Command earlier in the day.
Members of the Ilana Omo Oodua, led by Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, gathered at Mapo Roundabout In Ibadan rather than Mapo Hall.
The group members, who are demanding the secession of the Yoruba nation away from Nigeria, carried banners and Yoruba nation flags.
Basorun Kunle Adesokan, one of the leaders of the group, said Yoruba were no longer part of Nigeria and the people want to be an independent nation.
Adesokan lamented the rising spate of insecurity in Yoruba land, saying the people could no longer stand the injustice in Nigeria.
He said: “We are no longer part of Nigeria. Yoruba people are determined to stand alone. We are starting the rally here in Ibadan because this is the capital of the Yoruba nation.
“Our brothers in Kwara, Lagos, Kogi, Edo, Delta and other states are here. We are not going to use violence, we want the Yoruba nation. No retreat no surrender. Let Hausa go their way, let Fulani go their own way and Igbo people should also go.
“The rally has taken off, we won’t stop until we achieve our aim.”
One of the leaders of Itsekiri youths present at the rally, Isaac Ajatitan, said the Itsekiri people are part of the Yoruba race and would support Ilana Omo Oodua to achieve this aim.
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