Four persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on Radio Nigeria’s, Amuludun 99.1 FM station in Ibadan, Oyo state
Newspread earlier reported that a group of separatists had stormed and taken over the radio station at about 6am on Sunday morning. They were armed with lethal weapons and charms, and they threatened to severely deal with any staff member who did not cooperate with them.
However, the Nigerian army helped the police apprehend four of the separatists, including a woman, while the rest fled in different directions to avoid being arrested.
One of the detained agitators who was shot dashed inside the studio to inform others that security agents had taken over the entire station. Bloodstains were seen in the studio.
The protesters took over the studio and broadcast “Welcome to Yoruba Nation” live on the radio after holding several night shift employees and security officers hostage.
According to a source, the agitators also threatened employees to take down all Nigerian flags from the station and replace them with Yoruba nation banners as they already had in control the Government Secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan.
They reportedly initially hijacked some commercial cars (Micra) in order to block the major road.
Reports stated that more than 20 operational security vehicles, including those from the Department of State Services, were visible at key spots at J&P Bus-stop, Akinyele Local Government Area, Moniya, to prepare for the worst situation.
Confirming the attack, Ajayi Omotola, the most senior staff on duty, said that, “They told us that they are Yoruba nation agitators. And on 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.”
She added, “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.”
At the time of filing this report, security officers were still on duty at the station but calm had been restored to the area.
Newspread reported that the community radio station Amuludun FM is owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
The radio station was founded on October 10, 2007, and on October 22 of the same year it started broadcasting exclusively in Yoruba.