Mr Toyin Ajamu, Private Secretary to the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, speaks to OLUFEMI OLANIYI of PUNCH newspapers on the attack on his palace and the monarch’s history of intervention in cases of harassment levelled against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad by his subjects
Some alleged #EndSARS protesters attacked the palace on October 11. What time of the day did that happen?
The attack happened between 4pm and 5pm.
Why did they attack the palace when the Kabiyesi is not a policeman or a politician?
The Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, came to visit the family of the young man killed during the protest of October 10. He went to commiserate with the deceased’s family and after that, he came to the palace on a courtesy visit. He came to brief Kabiyesi and to assure him that those who fired live bullets at protesters would be brought to justice. He also said he would assist the family of the slain youth and help to settle the bills of those hospitalised.
I think some youths, who saw the minister when he had gone to commiserate with the family of the youth that was killed, tracked him to the palace. Maybe the youths wanted to create an avenue to talk to the minister, I don’t know, but they came to the main gate and were shouting. The gate was locked but some scaled the fence and unlocked the gate from inside and that was how they trooped into the palace. They were throwing stones at the palace, even before they came in.
Are you saying Kabiyesi was not their target?
No. He was not their target.
Was anybody killed at the palace?
Nobody was killed at the palace, but one chief, an old man, was injured. Kabiyesi was not affected in any way. They broke into the main parlour and broke properties. Some of them who came in became scared of going further at a point. Kabiyesi was not injured and the minister was also not injured.
But some said they saw corpses at the palace. How were those people killed?
Nobody was killed at the palace. They brought corpses in anger to show those they said were shot dead. But nobody was killed inside the palace. Kabiyesi sent some chiefs to the police station, led by Chief Samuel Sobalaje Otolorin, the Areago of Ogbomosoland, and the secretary to the palace to go and appeal to our people at Owode, but they didn’t listen.
What time was that?
That was between noon and 1pm.
Are you saying nobody was killed at the palace?
Nobody was killed at the palace. You can ask anybody. The only chief that was injured is an old man who could not run because of old age. The whole thing shocked the chief.
But is the chief okay now?
They attacked the man with a club, hit him on the head but he was taken to the hospital. He is between 85 and 90 years old. He is one of those who are very close to Kabiyesi. He was Kabiyesi’s carpenter and the Oba honoured him with a chieftaincy title. His name is Chief David Alagbe.
Had the palace been attacked like that before?
I have worked here for over 15 years and I had never seen anything like that.
What has the response of the Ogbomoso people been to the attack?
They have been calling and condemning the attack, since the news broke that the palace was attacked. They were concerned about Kabiyesi’s safety, but we have been assuring them that Baba was not affected in any way. They know that Kabiyesi is a peace-loving leader and he has been at the forefront of making sure Ogbomoso is developed further.
Has security been beefed up after the attack?
When I told Kabiyesi that security had been beefed up around the palace, he was not enthusiastic about it, but he said we should leave them to do their jobs without harassing the people. Kabiyesi believes that God is the only one that can secure anybody. He said he had been here for over 40 years and God has been the one protecting him and everybody.
Can you estimate the value of properties destroyed during the attack?
The properties destroyed would run into millions of naira.
The #EndSARS protest led to the destruction of properties at the palace. Is Kabiyesi satisfied with the disbandment of SARS?
Kabiyesi is happy with that because that is part of what Nigerians and the protesters had been clamouring for. Kabiyesi himself had intervened in the issues of SARS and some Ogbomoso residents on many occasions. Some residents would come to the palace and complain about SARS harassment and extortion. Kabiyesi had, on many occasions, invited the head of the SARS team in Ogbomoso to the palace on such issues. He had instructed, on many occasions, that those who had legitimate cases should be released without paying a bribe. That has been happening for many years.
Even about two months ago, the butchers in the town had an issue with SARS. They said SARS officers beat them up and the matter was brought to Kabiyesi. He called the officer-in-charge, SARS, and once it was proved that they did not do anything wrong, he said they should be released and they were freed. Kabiyesi has always been of help to whoever comes here to make a report and has a genuine case. In fact, we were surprised because Kabiyesi has played a very prominent role in ensuring peace between his people and the SARS. We were surprised that such could be done against Kabiyesi. He has secured the release of no fewer than 50 persons who had genuine cases against SARS. But he would not have anything to do with any case of stealing or any crime.
What advice does he have for the Special Weapons and Tactics, which has been announced as a replacement for SARS?
The new SWAT unit should behave responsibly. They should not see themselves as being above the law. They are not above the law. They should work based on intelligence, rather than harassing, extorting or killing and maiming Nigerians. They should investigate well even before making arrests and should not do anything that will pit them against the people.
SOURCE: PUNCH
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