From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Controversy trails the true identity of the alleged territorial and kidnap warlord, Abdullah Iskilu-Wakili, who was arrested by members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) on Sunday and handed over to the police over allegations of terrorising Igangan, Ayete and other districts in Ibarapa North Local Government of Oyo State.
A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said that the Wakili that is being interrogated by the police is not the most dreaded Wakili, saying the old man arrested by OPC is not the wanted Wakili. But the Oyo State Coordinator of OPC, Rotimi Olumo, has described Fani-Kayode’s claim on Wakili as untrue and misinformation.
Fani-Kayode, in a series of tweets on Wednesday, said: ‘One Isikilu Wakili, a foreign terrorist, who operates in the Ibarapa area, is the most notorious, dangerous and bloodthirsty terrorist in the South-West today. He killed even more people yesterday (hacking to death of four persons at Idiyan village, a suburb of Ayete, in Ibarapa in the early hours of Sunday, this week, by suspected herdsmen). He is even worse than Abu and the old man that is in police custody in Ibadan. The Iskilu Wakili that is still at large is the leading mafia don, and he is a brutal and cold-blooded rapist and killer. He has brought torment and carnage to the people of the South-West.
‘I call on my friend and brother, Sunday Igboho (a Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, fondly called Sunday Igboho) to support and assist the Nigeria Police Force and intelligence agencies to find him, fish him out and bring him to justice. This must be done within the law and it must be done with power and precision. Now is the time to free the people of Ibarapa and the South West of his wickedness and barbarity.
‘Now is the time to do what ought to have been done long ago. I trust our security forces to do the right thing. The old man that they have in custody is not the real Mcoy. Iskilu is the real Mcoy and he is still out there killing our people.”
The OPC coordinator reacting to Fani-Kayode, said: ‘Fani-Kayode has a reputation for using his social media page to forment trouble and cause disunity in Yorubaland. He had once said that the Yoruba language was Anago. How can you take such a person too serious? I remembered former President Olusegun Obasanjo had said it once that Fani-Kayode can do anything for money and survival.
‘He lives in Abuja, romancing with the north, yet he was the first to refute the claim that the kidnapper was not Wakili. Where did he get his information? With his untenable claim, I know and I am sure that the former minister is doing the bid of his paymasters, who are majorly from the north. He is the undisputed spokesperson of any politician that is ready to feather his nest.
‘He should be warned to stop drumming the beat of disunity in Yorubaland. Fani-Kayode was one of the few people that called and congratulated our leader, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams on Monday, on the success of the operation of the OPC, and the following day, he twisted the story, refuting the claim that the man apprehended wasn’t Wakili.
‘Fani-Kayode is very close to a prominent politician in the north, yet none of them trusted him because they know that he is purely a political agent that cannot be trusted. He did everything to change every story. How can you take such a man so serious?
‘The operation that led to Wakili’s arrest and three other persons in Igangan lasted for over five hours, with a fierce battle ensuing between the OPC, the joint security operatives and the kidnappers. In the end, Wakili was apprehended, but his son, Abu escaped during the duel, using cows as cover.
‘Even the Ayete monarch, Oba Emmanuel Okeniyi, and a prominent group in Igangan also corroborated our claims that Wakili is their major problem in Igangan, applauding the OPC for rising to the occasion at the most important moment.’
The OPC chieftain advised Sunday Igboho to be wary of Fani-Kayode’s alleged antic and deceit because ‘he is so smart in causing disunity in Yorubaland.’