- submit petition to Ooni’s Palace
By John Dike, Osogbo
Wives of Osun State Amotekun Corps personnel currently in police custody on Monday staged a peaceful protest in Osogbo, demanding the immediate release of their husbands, who were arrested by the Nigeria Police over the killing of one Akinlalu.
The women, carrying placards with various inscriptions, appealed to the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force, former state governors, and other influential political leaders to intervene and secure the release of the detained officers.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mrs. Ajiboye Olusola lamented that their husbands have remained in detention in Abuja for more than four months without any form of communication or update on their case.
She described the prolonged detention as inhumane and unbearable, urging the relevant authorities to act with compassion.
“Our husbands have been detained for over four months, and since then we have not heard from them,” she said. “We have exercised patience, but the suffering has become too much. They did not commit any crime, and we are pleading with the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police to release our husbands.”
Another protester, Mrs. Idayat Oluwatoyin Oladokun, said the continued detention has subjected their families to severe hardship, noting that the detained personnel are the primary breadwinners of their households.
“Our husbands are our breadwinners, and since their arrest our families have been facing untold hardship,” she said.
“My husband left home in October, saying he was going to work, and he never returned. We can no longer endure this suffering. I am begging those in authority to please intervene.”
Also speaking, Mrs. Demola Aminat appealed for mercy, stating that the families’ hopes now rest solely on the compassion of the authorities.
The women recalled that they had, in the previous week, taken their protest to the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, but were unable to meet the monarch due to his absence.
In a related development, wives of the detained Amotekun personnel in Abuja also visited the Ooni’s palace to formally submit a petition demanding their release.
The petition was received on behalf of the monarch by the Obalufe of Ile-Ife, who assured the women that the Ooni would intervene to seek a lasting resolution to the matter.
The protesters reiterated their call for justice, compassion, and the immediate release of their husbands, stressing that continued detention without communication has placed severe emotional and economic strain on their families.
