The Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) has written an urgent letter to President Bola Tinubu, raising serious concerns about what it described as unlawful arrests and human rights abuses by the Nigerian Police, the Directorate of State Security (DSS), and other federal agencies against Yoruba youths across the Southwest, Kwara, and Kogi states.
In the letter dated May 25, 2025, and signed by Professor (Senator) Adebanji Akintoye, the national leader of the movement, the group accused security operatives of treating Yoruba youths as terrorists, subjecting them to arbitrary detention, extortion, and intimidation.
The letter claimed these acts were deliberate attempts to discourage the youths from pursuing self-determination for the Yoruba Nation.
The group described a pattern of systematic harassment, noting that security agencies often arrest young men without cause, detain them unlawfully, and in some cases, even detain their family members when the intended targets are not found.
“These federal agencies tend to view all Yoruba youths as insurgents or terrorists,” the letter stated.
“They abuse their human rights by arresting them without just cause and forcing them to pay for their release.”
The YSDM reminded President Tinubu that self-determination is a recognized right under various international laws to which Nigeria is a signatory, including the United Nations Charter and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The letter insisted that peaceful advocacy for Yoruba self-determination did not violate Nigerian laws.
The group also recalled the peaceful rallies of 2021, describing them as orderly and without any damage or injury, further questioning the need for such heavy-handed responses from security agencies.
Prof Akintoye warned that the ongoing harassment risked pushing the generally peaceful Yoruba youths toward violent backlash if their grievances continued to be ignored.
He also referenced statements by senior security officials admitting the state’s failure to protect citizens, underscoring the urgency of the matter.
The Yoruba Nation Movement called on President Tinubu to intervene swiftly and urged the federal government to facilitate negotiations for the peaceful separation of the Yoruba Nation, emphasizing that their quest was not for conflict but for justice and dignity.
Prof Akintoye appealed to Tinubu as a fellow Yoruba son, stressing the message was motivated by love for the Yoruba people and culture, while warning that continued neglect could have severe consequences for Nigeria and the West African region.
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