By Jude Opara, Abuja

A coalition under the aegis of the Yoruba Appraisal Forum (YAF) has petitioned the United Nations (UN) and its five permanent members against the activities of the Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua. The group also sent their petition to the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) and other powerful countries across the world over an alleged plan by the agitators to present a petition against the Nigerian government at the 76th General Assembly of the UN.

YAF, in the petition asked the UN and the five Super Power countries to stop the self-determination agitators and their allies from attending the UNGA to present its petition against the federal government of Nigeria, because “the ultimate objective of this group is to achieve nothing salutary or beneficial to the people of Nigeria but to further their evil design to undermine and bring down the country and the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, out of sheer malice over the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

The YAF petition signed by its National Coordinator, Adeshina Animashaun, is entitled; “Stop plan by Ilana Omo Oodua to attend/petition 76th United Nations General Assembly to seek global support for its violent agitation for Yorubaland secession from Nigeria.”

The petition which was made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja further accused Ilana Omo Oodua of funding “the violent activities of the self-styled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Igboho, currently undergoing trial in the neighbouring Benin Republic for gun-running following his recent arrest at that country’s airport while attempting to flee.”

The group also accused the Ilana Omo Oodua and its supporters of stockpiling arms and ammunition for its alleged plot to eventually confront the federal government in its bid to force the breakup of the Nigerian state.

Recall that the Prof Banji-Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua had recently made public its plan to attend the 76th UNGA scheduled for September to present a petition to the global organization over its demand for a separate and independent Yoruba state.

But YAF holds that Ilana Omo Oodua “is merely using Igboho to destabilise Nigeria through his nefarious, unpatriotic and violent agitation for an independent Yoruba nation.”

It added that the Yoruba nation agitators were getting foreign funding from some ignorant Nigerians in the Diaspora to fund its alleged plots to destabilize the current government and subsequently truncate the country’s democracy.

“The Ilana Omo Oodua and its allies are constituting themselves to unrepentant critics of the current government through their frequent acerbic and destructive outbursts and attacks against the government, coupled with the violence they unleash on innocent Nigerian citizens, which have become their pastime.

“It is very clear that the masterminds of this violence are bent on throwing Nigeria into total chaos to hasten the collapse of governments at both the state and federal levels to enable them to execute their evil plans for Nigeria, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

“They are planning to take advantage of the current security challenges in the country to wreak further havoc, starting with the South-West and expecting to instigate reprisals against Southerners in the North of Nigeria with the ultimate objective of destabilising the country, just as their partner-in-crime, IPOB is currently doing in the South-East and South-South regions of this country.”

The Forum equally warned in the petition that it is ready to mobilize its members across the country to confront any group planning to destabilize South West under the guise of seeking for self determination.