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Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 9:52pm On Sep 03, 2023
The OPC has been responsible for numerous acts of violence and its members have killed or injured hundreds of people. While many of their most serious attacks were directed against Hausa, or people suspected to be northerners, their victims have also included Igbo, Ijaw and people from other ethnic groups. There have even been cases where they have attacked Yoruba, both civilians and policemen. Most of their victims have been men.

Numerous eye-witness testimonies gathered by Human Rights Watch confirmed that contrary to their leaders' denials, the OPC have used a variety of weapons, including fire-arms, machetes, cutlasses, knives and daggers, which they are often seen carrying openly. There have also been several cases where they have poured acid on their victims. Frequently they set fire to the corpses of those they had killed, sometimes after mutilating them. It has been difficult to confirm the sources of the weapons used by the OPC. Small arms proliferate in Nigeria and it is easy to purchase guns and other weapons. In addition, the OPC have sometimes seized weapons belonging to the police or to suspected criminals that they have apprehended during their vigilante activities.

In the cases documented below, the victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch confirmed that the perpetrators were specifically OPC members, as opposed to other Yoruba. They had been able to identify them in a variety of ways. In some cases, the OPC explicitly identified or announced themselves as OPC. In other cases, witnesses identified them by the clothes they wore: although there is no full OPC uniform, their members typically wear a red or white cloth tied around their head, and wear charms and fetishes. Some wear T-shirts or head-bands with the words "OPC" printed on them. In some cases, they arrived in large convoys of vehicles bearing OPC banners or flags. In a few cases, the victims or witnesses recognized local individuals known to be OPC members.

Most of the incidents in which OPC members have been responsible for killings fall into one of two categories: large-scale ethnic clashes, creating many casualties, or isolated incidents in which individual OPC members have attacked or killed other individuals, for example in the course of vigilante activities or attempts at extortion or theft. In addition, there have been situations where the OPC has intervened or been used in political disputes, such as that in Owo, Ondo State, where it has ended up attacking supporters of rival political factions.

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by YouandiAllofus: 9:52pm On Sep 03, 2023
You forgot to mention the tekun ones grin
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 9:58pm On Sep 03, 2023
YouandiAllofus:
You forgot to mention the tekun ones grin

Ethnic Clashes


There has been a pattern of killings by the OPC in the context of disputes or clashes with other ethnic groups since at least 1999. Often these clashes were sparked off by a minor argument between two individuals from different ethnic groups, which typically then escalated when the Yoruba party brought in the OPC to fight their cause, while the other ethnic group retaliated by calling youths from their own community to the rescue. The incident would then rapidly degenerate into a violent ethnic conflict within hours, or sometimes within minutes. The widespread availability of small arms and traditional weapons and the readiness of youths from all sides to use them meant that community leaders were often unable to stop the violence or restore calm, despite efforts to do so.

By the time the violence reached its peak in the second half of 2000, hundreds of people had been killed, many by the OPC, others by other groups. Some of the most serious incidents are described below. A journalist commented: "Around 2000 was the worst period of OPC violence [...] The police were incapable of controlling it. The OPC could shut down a whole street [...] Every other week there were clashes."

These clashes had repercussions far beyond the southwestern states or the locations where they occurred. One of the immediate effects was that many Hausa-who were one of the most directly-affected groups-fled the southwest and moved back to the north; some have not returned since. A seventy-five-year-old Hausa man, whose thirty-five-year-old son was killed by the OPC in Ajegunle in October 2000 (see below), told Human Rights Watch: "My son Sahabi was killed. He was on his way home with his family. The OPC stopped them. They pushed his wife and children into the house then slaughtered him. His wife saw it happen. They cut his body into pieces with a cutlass. He had two children. The wife was traumatized. She couldn't speak for two months. She left for the north and has stayed there.

In several instances, attacks by the OPC on Hausa or northerners in the southwest were followed by reprisal attacks on Yoruba in the north. For example, following the killings in Sagamu in July 1999, violence erupted in the northern city of Kano, widely seen as an act of retaliation by the Hausa. Similarly, riots broke out in Minna, capital of Niger State, following the violence in Ajegunle in October 2000. The same has been true in reverse: clashes in the north between Yoruba and Hausa have had repercussions in the south and appeared to strengthen the resolve of the OPC to "fight the Yoruba cause." This was notably the case with the explosion of violence between Christians and Muslims in the northern city of Kaduna, in which an estimated 2,000 people were killed in February and May 2000, and which was followed by violence in the southwest.

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:08pm On Sep 03, 2023
Sagamu

In mid July 1999, there was a major clash between Hausa and Yoruba in Sagamu, Ogun State. Scores of people were killed. The violence began following an argument over customs observed during the Oro festival, an annual Yoruba event which had not been disrupted by any disputes either before or since 1999. Yoruba and Hausa had agreed to respect a traditional night-time curfew usually observed during the festival. However, according to local residents, a fight erupted between the Yoruba and the Hausa after a Hausa woman was killed by a group of Yoruba because she had broken the curfew. The fighting escalated and the OPC intervened to support the Yoruba. Both sides were armed. At least sixty-eight Hausa were killed, including three boys between the ages of ten and fifteen; some were killed with guns, but the majority were killed with cutlasses. A number of Yoruba were also killed, including one of the Oro leaders. Some people were burnt inside their houses


According to another local resident, two or three days later, the OPC came back to Sagamu in five vehicles, but there was a curfew and they were stopped by the police near the central police station. Local residents reported that there was a shoot-out and that the police killed some OPC members. Some policemen were also attacked by the OPC, including Sergeant Danda Shahibu; the OPC poured petrol over him with the intention of burning him, but he survived.

The OPC, while agreeing that both Hausa and Yoruba were killed in Sagamu, offered a different version of events. They alleged that the fighting was pre-meditated by the Hausa, and that the police in Sagamu had sided with the Hausa and provided them with ammunition. A report on the violence in Sagamu, circulated by the Gani Adams faction of the OPC, states that the OPC "is seen to have been the saviours of the town, as their members, also known as the Oodua Warriors, did battle to save the town.


A Hausa man in Sagamu told Human Rights Watch that after the violence, "the local government gave us forms to fill in for compensation, but nothing happened. Even the Seriki's [Hausa leader] house was burnt. The president, who came here on the Monday, promised there would be compensation, but there wasn't. There was an investigation but nobody was arrested. The governor of Ogun promised to rebuild the Seriki's house, but didn't.


According to an inside source within the OPC, the violence in Sagamu marked a turning point for the Gani Adams faction of the OPC. Fasehun and those close to him apparently had not wanted to intervene, and it was Gani Adams who decided to mobilize large numbers of OPC members as reinforcements to the Yoruba in Sagamu. This decision was popular with many rank-and-file members and resulted in a surge in membership of the Gani Adams faction.

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by franchasofficia: 10:11pm On Sep 03, 2023
OPC Terrorists, very deadly Yoruba Terror group cry

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:14pm On Sep 03, 2023
franchasofficia:
OPC Terrorists, very deadly Yoruba Terror group cry

Ketu / Mile 12 Market

On November 25 and 26, 1999, scores of people were killed when the OPC clashed with traders in Ketu / Mile 12 market in Lagos. The exact number of victims has not been confirmed, but is estimated to be more than one hundred. A senior police official who was at the scene said he saw an estimated two hundred bodies, but that others had already been buried in mass graves.

The fighting is thought to have been caused by jealousy on the part of Yoruba about the perceived dominance of the market by Hausa traders. There had also been disputes between particular individuals for control of key leadership positions within the market traders' committee. According to some of the traders, some Yoruba had been threatening to challenge this dominance and "claim back" the market from the Hausa. Consequently, many of the victims of the OPC attack were Hausa, or people of northern origin suspected to be Hausa; however, a number of Igbo and members of other ethnic groups were also attacked by the OPC. Some Hausa also attacked and killed Yoruba. Both groups were well-armed. Most of the violence took place in the market and on the roads surrounding it. However, witnesses reported that there were also house to house searches, in which the OPC targeted Hausas and Igbos. Market traders who witnessed the violence confirmed that large numbers of OPC members were involved (some estimated as many as 1,000) and that many of those carrying out the attacks were wearing vests with "OPC" written on them. They carried a range of weapons, including guns, machetes and daggers; some were wearing charms. Some traders believed that OPC members had been drafted in from other areas.

A woman who had been trading in the market for five years said she had never witnessed anything like it: "People were shouting: `OPC! OPC!' We started hearing gunshots. I had to find my way out of the market. [...] The expressway [the main road which runs along the market] was blocked by the OPC. This expressway was turned into a killing zone. For days a lot of dead bodies littered this road. [...] Many traders lost their lives and even some customers that were unfortunate to come to the market at that time."

A representative of the Perishable Foodstuffs Market Association told Human Rights Watch that sixty-eight Hausa traders had been killed in the food market alone; thirty of them were women. The Hausa traders sent a list of the victims they had counted to the Lagos State Governor; dated December 3, 1999, it lists sixty-eight people confirmed dead, including four blind men killed at a mosque; eleven unnamed people burnt at Ketu bus-stop; twenty-four people missing (who were never found), including nine schoolchildren; and details of buildings and property that were burnt or looted.

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Ladyclara002(f): 10:20pm On Sep 03, 2023
Nawa o
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:20pm On Sep 03, 2023
Still on Ketu / Mile 12 Market


A Hausa trader described how the OPC were specifically targeting Hausa and Igbo in and around the market. Some northerners who were not even Hausa were among those they attacked:

On 25 November, a young man, Mohammed, was knifed in the belly. He was rushed to hospital and was lucky to survive. They [the OPC] beat a lot of our members who started chasing them out. We went to the main road. The road was blocked. They were stopping all vehicles. They would offload any Hausa or Igbo, kill them and set them on fire. I saw them stopping vehicles. They were a very big group, maybe thousands. Some had OPC uniforms. Other Yoruba also joined in. They were asking people who were passing: `What is your state [of origin]? What is your tribe?' They stopped a northerner who sells provisions. He is not a Hausa; he is from the Zabruma tribe, from Kebbi State. His name is Bako; he is about thirty or thirty-five years old. They asked him which state he was from. He said Kebbi. They said: `Kill him. He's a Hausa man. He's from their states.' They cut him in several places. He managed to run away as the OPC heard the police siren and fled. I saw him face to face. He looked like he could have been attacked with knives or bottles; they used bottles a lot. He swore he would never return to Lagos.

An Igbo trader in the yam market narrowly survived being burnt to death:

That day, at about 9 a.m., we came to the market as usual [...] People said they were seeing movements they didn't understand, in the yam depot. We asked them not to panic. Some leaders went to report the movements to the police at Ketu. [...]

We heard noises, like whistles. Then we heard the main road was blocked. People were running, burning. They were looting yams and vehicles. There was no killing in the depot but there was killing and burning in lots of houses along the road. The next day, we saw corpses [...]

At about 4.30 p.m., I was trying to leave to go home. I was trapped by a group who identified me as Igbo. They said the Igbos were supporting the Hausas, therefore I should be killed. I was thoroughly beaten. They put a tyre around my neck and brought petrol. About ten or twelve people attacked me. They had bottles and sticks and beat me. Some were young and some were middle-aged. [...] It was a miracle they didn't set me on fire. I don't know what happened. Someone pulled me from the ground by the arm and said: "Run! Run!" An okada [motorcycle taxi] appeared from nowhere and told me to sit and we drove off. I was hospitalized for one or two days.

The attack of November 25-26 took place in the context of increasing tension in different parts of Lagos and followed a series of other attacks and incidents of intimidation involving the OPC. A trader at Ketu/Mile 12 market mentioned that some days before the attack on the market, about forty or fifty people wearing OPC uniforms had come to the market and threatened some of the traders: "They attacked Hausa and Igbo boys here. They kicked several of them with their boots. People started running away, shouting `OPC is in the market!' The OPC were telling Hausas and Igbos: `We're giving you fourteen days to leave this place.' They said the place should be controlled by Yoruba. It was a warning, but they didn't kill anybody that day. [...] There were also attacks in other places around. It started from the Tin Can Port. We first heard they had attacked Igbos and others there, including labour leaders. Then it happened at Sagamu, then here. This was all one or two weeks before."

Witnesses of the violence at Ketu/Mile 12 market on November 25-26 described how the security forces had failed to stop the attacks, and only intervened after many people had been killed. A trader told Human Rights Watch: "Eventually the police and army were deployed, after the crisis had lasted for several hours. The police were here while the OPC was busy killing people outside. The military were brought in later." Another said: "The police came after two days and dragged them away. They were not present during the crisis." He also deplored the lack of action on the part of the government: "We have a list of the victims [killed in the food market]. We recorded everything. We sent the list to the federal government but nothing happened. There was no investigation." Another said: "The fight lasted for two days before the police took control of the situation. The market was closed for several weeks and when we resumed business, all our goods had been either destroyed or rotten. I lost all my goods to the crisis. I saw a lot of dead bodies. I know a lot of traders that were killed. [...] I think the government is encouraging these OPC people because the way they carry out their mission suggests that they are not afraid of the law."

Some OPC representatives denied any involvement at all in the violence at Ketu/Mile 12, describing it as "an intra-market issue which did not involve us and in which we have not involved ourselves in any way."

Others denied that the OPC had initiated the fighting but admitted that it had been present; however, they claimed that many people had been killed before the OPC arrived on the scene. As usual they denied having any weapons other than traditional charms, and claimed that the police had supplied the Hausa with guns. They stressed that the Hausa had also been responsible for violence and mentioned an incident in which a group of Hausa men had allegedly killed several Yoruba schoolchildren at the Baptist primary school. Human Rights Watch tried to cross-check this information but was not able to confirm that these killings had actually occurred. A senior school official at the Baptist school confirmed to Human Rights Watch that a group of Hausa had tried to break into the school, but denied that any children had been killed. She indicated that the media reports which had also mentioned the incident at that time had been based on false information.

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Makunahatata: 10:22pm On Sep 03, 2023
Mpuru mmiri pppl too mumu😂😂

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:24pm On Sep 03, 2023
Ladyclara002:
Nawa o


Alaba Market

In mid July 2000, a private dispute between a landlord and a tenant escalated out of control and several people were killed in the large Alaba electronics market in Lagos, as OPC members clashed with Igbo traders. The incident began when a Yoruba landlord, who had lost patience with a court case to resolve a dispute with his tenant, called in the OPC to deal with the problem instead. The tenant, an Igbo trader called Ike who dealt in electronic goods in Alaba market, returned from work one day to find his landlord and a group of OPC members waiting for him. On instruction from the landlord who pointed him out to the OPC, the OPC members attacked him, accusing him of being a criminal. Despite his denials, they beat him into a coma, allegedly in the presence of the landlord who did not respond to his pleas for help, even when the OPC set him on fire; he later died from his injuries

Some of the victim's neighbors, wanting to avenge Ike's death, set fire to the landlord's building. The market traders, the majority of whom are Igbo, also mobilized to protest the death of their colleague. According to one of the traders' representatives, when they went to complain to the Baale [local Yoruba leader], OPC members were assembled there and attacked them. Several traders were injured. The traders ran back to the market and tension escalated. The OPC members apparently sought reinforcements and within a short time had invaded parts of the market. They smashed many of the buses owned by the Igbos and barricaded the roads. The traders decided to fight back after they discovered the body of another Igbo man who had been macheted to death by the OPC at a nearby petrol station; he was apparently found dead, clutching a Bible. As the traders tried to defend themselves, and some of them took up arms, the OPC extended the attack to other Igbo residents in the area. The police, who were called to the scene by the chairman of the electronics market association, were initially unable to stop the violence and had to send for reinforcements. Eventually, the paramilitary mobile police brought the situation under control.

The fighting in Alaba market lasted for at least two days. Trading was suspended, although the police advised against closing the market completely to avoid a further escalation. One trader, who was present at the height of the violence, described it as "a big fight. The traders were at the Alaba end of the road while the OPC were at the Ajamgbadi end. The battle was fought at Sabo Onigba between St Patrick and Chemist bus stop. [...] I was watching from a safe distance. When the battle became so fierce, we hid in the shops because it was unsafe to venture out. Some traders were killed outside the market and their bodies dumped in the canal. [...] In the night, the OPC went from house to house searching for Igbos. Some were killed while others sustained serious injuries at the hands of the OPC."

The participation of the OPC was confirmed by several eye-witnesses. One trader told Human Rights Watch that they were wearing OPC vests and carrying charms, and saw a truck full of OPC members. Another said: "I knew it was OPC members that fought with the traders. They were wearing their white vests and white handkerchieves." Other Yoruba youths, who may not have been OPC members, also became involved in the fighting; some of them were armed with knives, stones, and sticks.

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:28pm On Sep 03, 2023
Still on Alaba Market

It has been difficult to confirm the exact number of deaths in Alaba market. Several traders told Human Rights Watch that they knew of at least four Igbo traders who had been killed in just one part of the market and several others injured. It is likely that there were other victims in other parts of the market. A number of Yoruba were also killed when the Igbos retaliated. One trader mentioned that at least four Yoruba were killed, including the local OPC leader: "When I saw how the OPC leader was killed and burnt, I became scared. I decided to rush home. I ran into a roadblock mounted by OPC members. They asked us to raise our hands, they searched us and found nothing and passed us on. That same day, about four Igbo traders were killed in a house at Ajamgbadi."

There was also a clash between the OPC and the mobile police who were called after the civilian police had been unable to restore order. The mobile police commander who led the operation confirmed to Human Rights Watch that both the OPC and some of the Alaba community were armed. He said that as he and his colleagues were talking to the OPC to try to calm the situation down, three OPC buses arrived and opened fire on them. He and a police inspector were both injured.

Some local residents and traders believe that the incident between the landlord and the tenant was just the trigger for the expression of a deeper, underlying tension in the area, particularly feelings of jealousy between the local Yoruba community and the predominantly Igbo traders in Alaba. In addition, according to a local resident, the day before the tenant, Ike, was killed, the OPC had killed five other Igbo men. Apparently they too had been killed because they owed rent to their landlord, who had called the OPC in to deal with them. The man who related the incident to Human Rights Watch did not see them being killed, but saw the dead bodies of four of them, three in a compound and a fourth in the gutter; they had apparently died from gunshot wounds. He also saw around thirty OPC members patrolling the area, in two buses; they were easily recognizable by the red bands they wore on their heads and their black T-shirts.

Whatever the real cause of the violence in Alaba, one of its direct effects was to increase ethnic polarization in the area. A market traders' representative told Human Rights Watch: "It was after this crisis that we initiated another association, the Alaba United Traders' Association, for the Igbo traders alone. The former association had comprised every trader in Alaba, irrespective of tribal affiliation. [...] It was a good thing that peace was restored because at a time, we were thinking of acquiring arms and even declaring the Alaba area a Biafran territory."

However, he added that a prominent Yoruba leader had come to apologize to the traders.

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:36pm On Sep 03, 2023
Makunahatata:
Mpuru mmiri pppl too mumu😂😂

Ajegunle

"We get on all right with the Yoruba here. Our only problem is with the OPC."
- Hausa community leader in Ajegunle, September 2002

There were two waves of clashes in Ajegunle, an area of Lagos. The first occurred in around September-October 1999, when Yoruba clashed with Ijaw, in what was seen as the aftermath of earlier, violent confrontations between Ijaw and Ilaje (a sub-group of the Yoruba) in Ondo State. Human Rights Watch did not carry out an in-depth investigation into these clashes, but spoke to some local residents of Ajegunle, who said that more than forty people were killed, most of them men. The victims included both Ijaw and Yoruba. Some were killed with machetes, others were burnt, others were shot dead. The report of the tribunal of inquiry set up by the state government into civil disturbances in Lagos State (see Section VII, 2 below) stated that the fighting did not appear to involve the entire Yoruba community in the area, but was more specifically "fighting between OPC members and Ijaw boys."

The second clash occurred about one year later, in October 2000, this time between Yoruba and Hausa. It was one of the most serious incidents of violence involving the OPC. More than 250 people were killed and at least as many were injured as Yoruba and Hausa fought each other for several days, from October 15 to 19, 2000; thousands of people were displaced by the violence. While both Yoruba and Hausa took up arms and participated in the killings, the majority of the victims were from the Hausa community. Almost all the victims were men, of different ages. According to the Nigerian Red Cross, which provided assistance to those wounded in the clashes, most of the injuries were caused by gun-shots, machete cuts, and clubbing. A foreign journalist who covered the incident said some of the bodies had been decapitated; many of them had been burnt after being killed. He said he saw at least one hundred OPC members, many of them carrying long sword-like knives.

The incident which triggered the violence was a minor dispute between Hausa and Yoruba which occurred after a man accused of stealing some goods was taken by a group of Yoruba to the Hausa community. The Hausa apparently refused to hand over the alleged thief to them, the Yoruba protested, and a fight broke out. Within a short time, the Yoruba had called in the OPC, and the killing spree began. All those interviewed by Human Rights Watch, with the exception of some OPC members, confirmed that the OPC had been central to the violence and that the killings were ethnically motivated. One man who was present during the violence heard OPC members saying: "We have to punish Hausa people here."

A Hausa man who sold meat in Ajegunle explained what happened after the argument over the allegedly stolen goods:

The Hausa men beat up the Yoruba boys [...] The OPC went to regroup, this time armed with guns, charms and machetes. They attacked and killed a lot of Hausa men. Later they extended the killing to us here. [...] They killed sixteen of my colleagues there. They were macheted, shot and burnt here. Those killed included Ali, Musa, Umoru, Bello, Buba, Sani, Mallam Audu, Adamu and his brother, another Adamu, Hassan, and Musa Mohammed.

There was no doubt that the killing was done by OPC. From my hiding place I could see them together with other Yoruba men and boys. The OPC was leading the group. They had white bandanas tied on their heads. Some were carrying guns, machetes, and charms. [...] At the Hausa Line they killed so many people, but the Hausa people also killed some. The people the OPC killed were all lined up on the road. It was a gory sight. There were too many to be counted. [...]

Another Hausa man, who was injured in the violence, also saw several people being killed:

It was on Monday that the OPC came. They tried to burn a shop. I ran into the shop to help the owner remove his goods. I was shot in the chest, in the leg and in the armpit. It was three OPC who did it; all three had guns. One was shooting while the others were standing guard. They also shot three other people, including Dikko. The OPC were wearing red cloth on their heads and dark colored T-shirts. There was general confusion and I couldn't get any treatment. The bullets stayed inside me until two months ago [almost two years later]. Someone gave me some money for treatment and two of the bullets were removed, but one is still there.

I saw five men being killed, in different places. Tsoho [aged fifty or sixty] was killed along Mensah Street. He was shot dead by five OPC. It was on 16 October, the day the mosque was burnt. Abu [aged seventy-three] was also killed on Monday on the street on the way to the mosque. He was also shot by five OPC. Shehu [about sixty-five] tried to assist Abu and was shot by the same OPC group. Gambo [aged about fifty-two] was slaughtered with knives in his house in Alakara. His wife and children aged eleven and seven were there. His wife told us. We rushed there and found his dead body. Bagobari [aged forty-seven] was killed on Sunday on Tolu Street. He was coming home from work. About seven OPC, all with guns, shooting, trapped him near the local mosque. They were shooting at random and he died.

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Makunahatata: 10:38pm On Sep 03, 2023
Uyomiya:


Ajegunle

"We get on all right with the Yoruba here. Our only problem is with the OPC."
- Hausa community leader in Ajegunle, September 2002

There were two waves of clashes in Ajegunle, an area of Lagos. The first occurred in around September-October 1999, when Yoruba clashed with Ijaw, in what was seen as the aftermath of earlier, violent confrontations between Ijaw and Ilaje (a sub-group of the Yoruba) in Ondo State. Human Rights Watch did not carry out an in-depth investigation into these clashes, but spoke to some local residents of Ajegunle, who said that more than forty people were killed, most of them men. The victims included both Ijaw and Yoruba. Some were killed with machetes, others were burnt, others were shot dead. The report of the tribunal of inquiry set up by the state government into civil disturbances in Lagos State (see Section VII, 2 below) stated that the fighting did not appear to involve the entire Yoruba community in the area, but was more specifically "fighting between OPC members and Ijaw boys."

The second clash occurred about one year later, in October 2000, this time between Yoruba and Hausa. It was one of the most serious incidents of violence involving the OPC. More than 250 people were killed and at least as many were injured as Yoruba and Hausa fought each other for several days, from October 15 to 19, 2000; thousands of people were displaced by the violence. While both Yoruba and Hausa took up arms and participated in the killings, the majority of the victims were from the Hausa community. Almost all the victims were men, of different ages. According to the Nigerian Red Cross, which provided assistance to those wounded in the clashes, most of the injuries were caused by gun-shots, machete cuts, and clubbing. A foreign journalist who covered the incident said some of the bodies had been decapitated; many of them had been burnt after being killed. He said he saw at least one hundred OPC members, many of them carrying long sword-like knives.

The incident which triggered the violence was a minor dispute between Hausa and Yoruba which occurred after a man accused of stealing some goods was taken by a group of Yoruba to the Hausa community. The Hausa apparently refused to hand over the alleged thief to them, the Yoruba protested, and a fight broke out. Within a short time, the Yoruba had called in the OPC, and the killing spree began. All those interviewed by Human Rights Watch, with the exception of some OPC members, confirmed that the OPC had been central to the violence and that the killings were ethnically motivated. One man who was present during the violence heard OPC members saying: "We have to punish Hausa people here."

A Hausa man who sold meat in Ajegunle explained what happened after the argument over the allegedly stolen goods:

The Hausa men beat up the Yoruba boys [...] The OPC went to regroup, this time armed with guns, charms and machetes. They attacked and killed a lot of Hausa men. Later they extended the killing to us here. [...] They killed sixteen of my colleagues there. They were macheted, shot and burnt here. Those killed included Ali, Musa, Umoru, Bello, Buba, Sani, Mallam Audu, Adamu and his brother, another Adamu, Hassan, and Musa Mohammed.

There was no doubt that the killing was done by OPC. From my hiding place I could see them together with other Yoruba men and boys. The OPC was leading the group. They had white bandanas tied on their heads. Some were carrying guns, machetes, and charms. [...] At the Hausa Line they killed so many people, but the Hausa people also killed some. The people the OPC killed were all lined up on the road. It was a gory sight. There were too many to be counted. [...]

Another Hausa man, who was injured in the violence, also saw several people being killed:

It was on Monday that the OPC came. They tried to burn a shop. I ran into the shop to help the owner remove his goods. I was shot in the chest, in the leg and in the armpit. It was three OPC who did it; all three had guns. One was shooting while the others were standing guard. They also shot three other people, including Dikko. The OPC were wearing red cloth on their heads and dark colored T-shirts. There was general confusion and I couldn't get any treatment. The bullets stayed inside me until two months ago [almost two years later]. Someone gave me some money for treatment and two of the bullets were removed, but one is still there.

I saw five men being killed, in different places. Tsoho [aged fifty or sixty] was killed along Mensah Street. He was shot dead by five OPC. It was on 16 October, the day the mosque was burnt. Abu [aged seventy-three] was also killed on Monday on the street on the way to the mosque. He was also shot by five OPC. Shehu [about sixty-five] tried to assist Abu and was shot by the same OPC group. Gambo [aged about fifty-two] was slaughtered with knives in his house in Alakara. His wife and children aged eleven and seven were there. His wife told us. We rushed there and found his dead body. Bagobari [aged forty-seven] was killed on Sunday on Tolu Street. He was coming home from work. About seven OPC, all with guns, shooting, trapped him near the local mosque. They were shooting at random and he died.
oga go to sleep

1 Like

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:39pm On Sep 03, 2023
Still on Ajegunle

An Igbo baker who witnessed the violence explained how the OPC specifically sought out and targeted Hausa residents of the area. He described how the OPC led the operation: "The people that carried out the killings were OPC members. But they were joined by other Yoruba youths. The OPC were in front but a large mob made up of area boys were following behind and helping to apprehend the Hausa. The OPC were not in uniform but some of them had red or white ribbon tied on their heads. They were also carrying guns, charms and machetes." He told Human Rights Watch that he saw them kill at least ten people before he had to turn away:

That morning, some OPC men, around ten of them, came to the street. They looked around but they didn't see any Hausa man. They left. Later, one man went to call them back and showed them where the Hausa men were hiding. They swooped on them and slaughtered them all. They were caught unawares. We were watching them here from our balcony.

They went from house to house bringing the Hausa men out and killing them. They made a bonfire down there in the street. They were bringing out their properties and throwing them into the bonfire. Any Hausa man caught was killed and thrown into the bonfire. It was a terrible experience. I have never seen anything like that. They were killed by cutting their necks with a long knife or by shooting them in the head.

There was one man who sells suya [grilled meat] down there; his name is Mallam Audu. They shot him but the bullet did not penetrate his body, neither could their machetes. They had to strangle him and then club him to death. His body was also thrown into the fire.

[...] Some kind-hearted individuals were hiding the Hausa men because they are our neighbors. One Hausa man ran into my house. I never knew him before. I hid him for three days. It was on the fourth day that we [residents of Ajegunle] invited the navy to come and evacuate them. It was then that all the Hausa men in hiding started coming out.

A Hausa community leader narrowly escaped death after he and a large group of other Hausa were rounded up by the OPC:

On 15 October 2000, at about 7.15 p.m., I met roadblocks manned by people with cutlasses, axes, bottles, pistols, and double-barrel guns. I was in my car. They asked me to stop. There were about thirteen or fifteen of them. They said: "We are OPC." They had a red scarf on their head but no other uniform at that time. They brought me out, took my key, took my car and parked it. They took me to the waterside. There I found many of my own people, more than forty held there, all men. The OPC put firewood. One said: "These are the people we caught. We want to lecture them, then burn them." Another OPC leader said: "Don't kill them here, take them away." They took us to another house. They surrounded us there. They were armed with guns, cutlasses and axes. Another OPC leader came in and checked inside. He said that there were not enough of us, only about forty, and he wanted there to be more than one hundred. He gave orders to his members to find others.

There were about seven OPC commanders giving orders. The younger boys, about ten of them, had guns and cutlasses. The older ones stood by and gave commands in the Yoruba language, which I could understand. For example, when they had stopped me in my car, they said: "Take the key from him. Park the car. Take him to slaughter."

Then I don't know what happened. We heard gunfire and shooting outside. I told my people: "I'm going outside. I will pray and try to escape." I came out with my arms up in surrender. Others followed me in the same way. We passed safely by the place where the OPC were shooting because they were not watching us.

I saw many people killed and burnt vehicles. I saw around seventeen bodies just lying everywhere. I don't know who they were. They were all men, no women.

I reached my house and asked my people what had happened before. They said three OPC had carried a Calabar man who had stolen an iron. They left him with his people there and went back. Then they returned with three buses full of OPC with guns, cutlasses, bottles and sticks. [...] The OPC came looking for the Calabar man. They shot one Hausa man who said he didn't know where he was. Another Hausa man who talked was also shot. We saw that if someone talks, they will get shot. We reported the problem to our leader. The leader went to see what was going on. Meanwhile they had killed another four people. The leader brought the six bodies back.

The OPC went to the main road and stopped people from coming back. They had three buses on the main road. They shot a Hausa boy and left him in the gutter.

On the Sunday, on the roads around here, the OPC was stopping buses and saying: "Where are the Hausa inside? Bring them out, kill them and burn them!" This was happening on the roads from Alaba Suru to Ijora Badia and from Mile 2 to Orile Bus stop, and at Ijora under the bridge where the Hausas do business.

[...] On Thursday, they put dead bodies on a tipper lorry and drove off. All the bodies were together, maybe about one hundred of them. The lorry came only once but it was full.

Some people were killed inside their houses. Some were slaughtered. They put three people in my car and two underneath and burned them. An Igbo man was taken away in front of me. I don't know what happened to him but they burned his car. Just here, more than thirty northerners were killed. Even more people were killed on the roads.

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by YouandiAllofus: 10:40pm On Sep 03, 2023
Uyomiya:


Ethnic Clashes


There has been a pattern of killings by the OPC in the context of disputes or clashes with other ethnic groups since at least 1999. Often these clashes were sparked off by a minor argument between two individuals from different ethnic groups, which typically then escalated when the Yoruba party brought in the OPC to fight their cause, while the other ethnic group retaliated by calling youths from their own community to the rescue. The incident would then rapidly degenerate into a violent ethnic conflict within hours, or sometimes within minutes. The widespread availability of small arms and traditional weapons and the readiness of youths from all sides to use them meant that community leaders were often unable to stop the violence or restore calm, despite efforts to do so.

By the time the violence reached its peak in the second half of 2000, hundreds of people had been killed, many by the OPC, others by other groups. Some of the most serious incidents are described below. A journalist commented: "Around 2000 was the worst period of OPC violence [...] The police were incapable of controlling it. The OPC could shut down a whole street [...] Every other week there were clashes."

These clashes had repercussions far beyond the southwestern states or the locations where they occurred. One of the immediate effects was that many Hausa-who were one of the most directly-affected groups-fled the southwest and moved back to the north; some have not returned since. A seventy-five-year-old Hausa man, whose thirty-five-year-old son was killed by the OPC in Ajegunle in October 2000 (see below), told Human Rights Watch: "My son Sahabi was killed. He was on his way home with his family. The OPC stopped them. They pushed his wife and children into the house then slaughtered him. His wife saw it happen. They cut his body into pieces with a cutlass. He had two children. The wife was traumatized. She couldn't speak for two months. She left for the north and has stayed there.

In several instances, attacks by the OPC on Hausa or northerners in the southwest were followed by reprisal attacks on Yoruba in the north. For example, following the killings in Sagamu in July 1999, violence erupted in the northern city of Kano, widely seen as an act of retaliation by the Hausa. Similarly, riots broke out in Minna, capital of Niger State, following the violence in Ajegunle in October 2000. The same has been true in reverse: clashes in the north between Yoruba and Hausa have had repercussions in the south and appeared to strengthen the resolve of the OPC to "fight the Yoruba cause." This was notably the case with the explosion of violence between Christians and Muslims in the northern city of Kaduna, in which an estimated 2,000 people were killed in February and May 2000, and which was followed by violence in the southwest.
Post too long for me to read and make an informed opinion. All propagated narratives of un/intent remains insubscribable

2 Likes

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:41pm On Sep 03, 2023
Makunahatata:
oga go to sleep

Still on Ajegunle

Victims and witnesses of the violence confirmed that the OPC members involved in the violence seemed well organized and that some of them, believed to be their leaders, were giving instructions to others-as illustrated by the testimony above. Another witness said he was sure those who were carrying out the killings were OPC members and described how they operated: "They said `O'odua!' as a signal to others and `Shoot! Shoot!' I knew of two commanders. I saw them openly in communication with each other." Another man said: "One big OPC was giving orders: `Pack everything away! Put fire!'" Another man, who was shot in the head as the OPC opened fire at random, said: "I saw about thirty OPC with guns, stick, pieces of iron, broken bottles. They wore red on their head with their symbol. They were just shouting `Kill them!' and other things which I didn't understand. There were many senior ones among them."

The police failed completely to stop the violence in Ajegunle. All those interviewed by Human Rights Watch confirmed that the police did not intervene at any stage of the killings. The military only intervened on the third or fourth day, after they were called by local residents and community leaders, who had to pay the soldiers themselves to be evacuated to the barracks for safety. A Hausa community leader described how they desperately begged the police for help on several successive days, in vain:

We called the DPO [Divisional Police Officer]. He said he had not received orders to help us. We tried the other DPO in Trinity; he said he had no orders either. We tried the Area B Commander, who had no orders either. We called the Lagos State Commissioner who said he had no orders either.

From the barracks we had to pay ourselves for the police and the mobile police to come. We hired them. We took trucks and trailers and loaded our people on and took them to the barracks for safety. [...] On Wednesday morning, the police were given the order to come here, but they feared the OPC. The OPC were still here.

Thousands of people, the majority of them Hausa, who had been evacuated to the barracks, remained there for one or two weeks until they were sure the violence had ended. While they were there, the OPC looted or burnt their property which was lying in their empty houses.

Many residents of Ajegunle testified to the commission of inquiry set up by the Lagos state government to investigate the violence. They provided detailed information on the number of victims and extent of the damage. For example, a list compiled by the committee chairman of the local Hausa community includes the names of more than one hundred people who were shot dead between October 15 and 19 in the areas known as Hausa Line (Taiwo Street) and Achakpo scrap market, and many others whose property was destroyed. Residents told Human Rights Watch that the government had promised compensation to those affected by the violence. Two years later, none of those interviewed by Human Rights Watch were aware of any compensation having been paid

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:45pm On Sep 03, 2023
YouandiAllofus:

Post too long for me to read and make an informed opinion. All propagated narratives of un/intent remains insubscribable

Idi-Araba

One of the more recent incidents of ethnic violence involving the OPC took place in Idi-Araba and surrounding areas in Mushin, Lagos, on February 2 to 4, 2002. Clashes between Hausa and Yoruba claimed more than seventy lives. Human Rights Watch spoke to many residents of the area and eye-witnesses of the violence, including members of the Hausa and Yoruba communities, and people from other ethnic groups who found themselves trapped by the violence. Most of them confirmed that OPC members had participated in the violence; however, Human Rights Watch has not been able to ascertain whether the violence was planned in advance by the OPC, or whether OPC members or supporters joined in to support the Yoruba once the fighting between Yoruba and Hausa had already started. A journalist who covered the crisis told Human Rights Watch: "The OPC galvanized people. They just provided the leadership and the others followed. The OPC was like a vanguard. It started off with a minor disagreement which escalated into an ethnic conflict. Many of the people involved didn't even know what had sparked it off until later."

The incident which apparently sparked off the fighting on February 2 was an argument which developed after a Hausa man defecated in an area not intended as public toilet, close to where the OPC was holding a meeting. Some Yoruba (who may or may not have been OPC members) challenged the man and asked him to pay for use of the area as a toilet. The man refused and a fight ensued. He reported the problem to his community. A larger group of Hausa then returned with him to the scene and a fight broke out between them and the Yoruba. According to the leader of the local Hausa community, the OPC then came back in a big group, armed with guns, and started fighting the Hausa, who were also armed. The situation escalated and the fighting lasted for two days.

According to residents of the area, the police did not have any visible presence until the evening of the second day. There were reports that several people were then shot dead by the police. Eventually, the military were also sent in to quell the violence and it was they, and not the police, who finally restored order

By that time, scores of people had been killed, both Hausa and Yoruba; more than a hundred others had been seriously injured; hundreds of houses and public buildings had been burnt to the ground. Most of the victims were adult men, but there were also several teenagers among them, and several women. The majority of deaths and injuries were inflicted with machetes; some people were also burnt to death. Some people were killed in their houses, others as they were trying to flee, yet others were shot at point-blank range or stabbed where they stood. The victims included both Hausa and Yoruba, but the evidence collected by Human Rights Watch indicates that a higher number of those killed were Hausa.

The same journalist told Human Rights Watch what he witnessed:

I went there on successive days. I saw fresh corpses and burnt corpses. In my presence, Yoruba were attacking the Hausa area with guns, machetes and other weapons, and petrol bombs. There were also attacks and killings by Hausa against Yoruba. They were using the same weapons, guns, machetes etc. [...] But most of the attackers were Yoruba. They also attacked some non-Hausa, people from minority groups in the north who were presumed to be Hausa. They were attacked because they were northerners, but they didn't even speak Hausa. Some Igbo were also attacked and their shops were looted.

A Hausa man described what he saw:

I saw the bodies of between thirty and fifty Hausa killed, but I believe there were more. Some of the bodies were rotting and smelling. They were mostly men and about four women. Three women and some men had been burnt. We couldn't identify the faces. One woman had been cut with an axe. She bled to death as there was no one to rescue her. Most of the others were killed with gunshots.

The police had not been given orders to shoot. They were telling people to go back. The police were watching while the OPC were killing people. In some places, there was a shoot-out between the OPC and the police [...].

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:51pm On Sep 03, 2023
Still on Idi-Araba

A young Hausa man described to Human Rights Watch how his twenty-three-year-old brother, Alhassan Uba, was killed:

My brother was a shoemaker. He was killed in the crisis. I was sitting outside our house with him, at about noon. We heard a crisis had started around Mushin but we didn't know what was happening. We went to see. We got to the main road. People were running and shouting "OPC! OPC!" We said: "there's no OPC here." Then we saw OPC with guns. They were shooting in the air, not at people. They wouldn't answer when we asked what was happening. We were just told that a Hausa man had defecated in an area which is not a public toilet and refused to give them money. They took the money by force. He called his friends who came with guns. Then we don't know what happened. The main crisis was in Mushin, behind Idi-Araba.

They shot my brother in the neck, in front of me, in the street, on Saturday. He fell down. He died in five minutes. We rushed him to hospital and reported it to the police.

We knew they were OPC because they use different guns, traditional guns. They have marks on their arms and on their chest like a tattoo. They wear a red handkerchief on their head. One was caught with his ID card. This is the first time the OPC came here. We were standing looking at them, and they just shot my brother.

Another young man described how his own nineteen-year-old brother, Abubakar, and another friend were killed:

On Saturday night, at about 11 or 11.30 p.m., we were trying to escape with our family. Someone told me my junior brother had been shot by the OPC. There were eye-witnesses there. They told me the OPC came and shot him in the leg as he was trying to run. He was shot along Ajegunle Street, no.6. I rushed there and brought him to the Hausa leader and called the doctor. But he died before the doctor could come. He died at about midnight.

Another very close friend, Kabiru Inusa, aged twenty-eight, was also killed by OPC. He was shot right in front of me, at about 2.30 a.m. on Saturday night, in the street. When they started shooting, we tried to duck. They shot him in the chest. He fell on the road. I called people to pick him up. He died on the way to the hospital.

An older man, Alhaji Adamu Gwara, was killed and burned. They shot him first, then they burned him and his two storey house. By the time we arrived, he was already burnt to ashes. This was at about 1.30 on Sunday night.

On Monday evening, the crisis stopped. The police and soldiers were here [...]. The police were present but took no action. Some even ran away. The OPC were shooting in front of the police. The police said they couldn't risk their lives. They ran away when the crisis was at its worst. The soldiers stopped the violence


Thousands of people were displaced by the fighting in Idi-Araba; 2,500 were evacuated by the Red Cross alone, while many others left spontaneously, in the general panic. The violence had a lasting impact in Idi-Araba, an area where previously, Yoruba and Hausa had enjoyed good relations; there were many mixed marriages, and past disagreements had generally been resolved peacefully. When Human Rights Watch visited the area three months after the violence, the fear and shock were still palpable. Many residents were genuinely shocked by the violence. A Hausa man whose thirty-one-year-old brother was killed said: "We knew Yoruba people well. We grew up together with the OPC people. People were killing us within us." His brother, who had been close to the Yoruba, was shot by the OPC when he was trying to intervene to prevent the violence. "They shot him when he went to talk to them. One party wanted to accept his mediation but the other didn't. I advised him to leave. He moved away. Someone called him. He turned round and was shot in the chest."

The violence in Idi-Araba came at a particularly tragic time for the residents of Lagos-only days after a series of massive explosions at a munitions depot at Ikeja military cantonment had killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands, at the end of January

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 10:58pm On Sep 03, 2023
There have been several other incidents in which OPC members attacked people on the basis of their ethnicity, particularly Hausas, other northerners, and people suspected of being sympathetic to the Hausas. A Hausa trader in Lagos told Human Rights Watch how, during violent clashes at the Agege abattoir on the outskirts of Lagos, in late 2000, the OPC had targeted anyone suspected of being a Hausa: "They killed Alhaji Zubairu, a father of three from Kogi State. They asked him where he was from. He said Kogi. They said he was a Hausa man, and killed him. Actually he was a northerner, but not a Hausa

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Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 11:00pm On Sep 03, 2023
An Igbo man witnessed an OPC operation in around January 2001 in which Hausas were specifically targeted. Apparently the incident was sparked off by a minor dispute between a Hausa man and a Yoruba man; the dispute escalated, the Yoruba man killed the Hausa man, then the Hausas retaliated and killed the Yoruba man. The Yoruba people then mobilized the OPC to come to their aid:

We were in the office that day and heard an uproar. We all came out. We saw people in a group holding matchets [machetes] and dangerous weapons. They were OPC, wearing uniforms. They were stopping commercial vehicles at Surualaba. They looked at every face. Anyone suspected of being a northerner was brought down and the vehicle asked to continue. They asked the person to speak their own language [Yoruba] or Igbo. If they failed, they cut their heads with matchets. They cut them, then set them ablaze with fuel. That day, they were targeting Hausa. They also attacked beggars (who include many Hausa) and burned them. If a person doesn't want to die, they use their guns [...]

The OPC killed Hausa for two days in that place. There were corpses littered all around. I saw more than thirty-six dead. There must be more as I didn't walk all the way. The victims included men, women, and the people who help the beggars.

After two days, the state government mobilized the police, the navy and the army. They arrested people. The military threw a grenade into a lorry-load of OPC people advancing. All the OPC members inside died. The lorry was burnt at Okokomaiko, about three miles away. That was the final blow, so they stopped.

1 Like

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 11:06pm On Sep 03, 2023
Hausas were not the only targets of the OPC. In some cases, the OPC attacked people from other ethnic groups with whom they had had disputes, including Igbos; in other cases, they would simply attack anyone who was not a Yoruba. An Igbo man from the Yaba area of Lagos told Human Rights Watch about his experience following a clash between Igbo traders and Yoruba youths, in December 2001

I was coming home from work, after 7 p.m. I ran into a group of OPC at Ebute Metta. They had clubs and machetes. They were in uniforms, white gowns with red cloth on their foreheads. They included men and women. They asked me which tribe I was from. I told them I am a child of God. They said: "he is not Yoruba, he must be Igbo." They said I should follow them. I said: "for what?"

I ran into a house for safety. The owner of the house told me what had happened. Earlier that day, some Igbo traders had fought area boys

The Igbos had refused to pay the area boys and a fight ensued. The Igbos defeated the area boys, who were Yoruba. The area boys went to invite the OPC. Therefore, if you don't speak Yoruba, you must be Igbo.
The owner of the house said I should stay there that night.

Later I decided to go home, with some others. We started walking. All the vehicles were parked. There was complete confusion. We ran into another roadblock formed by the OPC. There were about 120 of them, including women who wore baggy trousers. They come like locusts, chanting war songs [...] They were beating any person who didn't speak Yoruba, using knives, arrows, local instruments, locally-made guns, and juju [charms]. This time they caught all of us. They let go those who could speak Yoruba. I could not speak Yoruba. They flogged me with canes. I was pleading with them. Some were asking me for money. Some said the Igbos had beaten one of theirs into a coma and they wanted revenge. One of them put his hand in my pocket and took all my money and ID card. By luck, a bus was passing by. I thought it was a chance to escape. I wriggled out of them and jumped onto the vehicle, injuring myself against the iron seats. The bus drove off. My injuries meant that I didn't work for three days.
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 11:09pm On Sep 03, 2023
There is no point reporting it to the police. They are helpless.

In an incident which attracted much publicity at the time, the Fasehun faction of the OPC succeeded in almost paralyzing the ports of Apapa Wharf and Tin Can Port in Lagos in September 1999, following clashes with dockworkers. Some reports alleged that the Yoruba had been protesting against perceived domination of key positions in the ports held by Igbo, and brought in the OPC to strengthen their position; other alleged that it was an internal dispute between individuals fighting for control of influential positions in the dockworkers' union. The OPC launched a major operation in the ports, as did the police who were then called to restore order. There were violent clashes between the police and the OPC. Several people were killed, including a number of OPC members shot by the police.
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 11:14pm On Sep 03, 2023
Separately from the well-organized operations involving large numbers of OPC members, such as those illustrated above, individual OPC members have been responsible for killing and injuring a number of people, sometimes in the course of their vigilante activities, sometimes in an attempt to extort money or possessions from residents of the areas in which they operate, sometimes when they intervened in private disputes. During 1999 and 2000, the OPC became notorious for its brutal treatment of alleged criminals. There were frequent reports of OPC members apprehending people they suspected of being robbers, beating them, killing them and burning or mutilating them in public. In many cases, it was not clear on the basis of what evidence, if any, they apprehended these people. Civilians may of course apprehend persons engaged in criminal activity and turn them over to the authorities; however, OPC members who beat, murder or otherwise physically harm any persons in their custody should be criminally prosecuted.

In late December 1999, the Gani Adams faction of the OPC launched an operation in Akala, an area of Mushin in Lagos well-known for drug-dealing. Many media reports portrayed it as an attempt by the OPC to cleanse the area of criminals. In reality, the OPC entered the area to avenge an attack on one its female members by an alleged criminal in Akala. The OPC claimed that the woman was deliberately targeted and killed because she was wearing an OPC vest. There was a major clash between the OPC and Akala youths, many of whom are Yoruba and had previously supported the OPC. The OPC burned down many parts of the area and killed several people. The Akala youths also destroyed buildings and property. In January 2000, there was further violence in Akala, in which the Gani Adams faction of the OPC was reported to have killed at least four people and injured several others.

In one case, Dele, a man in his twenties who was a part-time worker for the African Petroleum oil company, was killed by the OPC as he was going to visit his girlfriend one evening, at Ijora Estate, in Apapa local government, Lagos, in the second half of 2000. Earlier, a group of thieves had been in the area, some of whom had been wearing suits. Dele, who happened to be wearing a suit, was stopped by the OPC who suspected him of being one of the thieves. He showed them his identity documents, but they refused to believe him. The OPC members asked him to give them the name of the person he was visiting. He gave his girlfriend's English name, but she was generally known by her Yoruba name, so after asking some residents, the OPC members claimed there was no one there by that name. They accused him of lying, beat him to death, then set him ablaze. His body was left there for two days.
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 11:18pm On Sep 03, 2023
A resident of Idi-Araba in the Mushin area of Lagos told Human Rights Watch that the OPC had begun operating there in early 2001: "They used to go people's houses. They accused a Hausa man of buying stolen property. He wasn't in when they went there, so they took all his belongings out and burned them. They went around killing people, cutting their heads and burning people in public. Once I saw a dead body of a Hausa man at the junction of Idi-Araba bus-stop. He was an armed robber who had been burnt alive. I saw him roasted with his bones sticking out. The body was on the street with the flames still burning. He had been left there. On Adekunle Street in Idi-Araba, a Yoruba boy was accused of being an armed robber. They chopped off his head and put it on a pillar. These two cases were within a few days of each other, later in 2001
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by HorlaMystic: 11:22pm On Sep 03, 2023
Osu cope thread

Now, show us a side-by-side comparison of terrorist attacks linked to OPC and IPOB.

I wan check something.

2 Likes

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by samuel9000: 11:25pm On Sep 03, 2023
U guys have started again......where and when is this happening?

1 Like

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 11:29pm On Sep 03, 2023
samuel9000:
U guys have started again......where and when is this happening?

Read
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by haffaze777(m): 11:43pm On Sep 03, 2023
Thread created by mad man for mad people to masturbate on


Thank God I do know how to ignore mad man,ignoring mad people mode activatedgringrin

13 Likes

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Wutinky: 12:45am On Sep 04, 2023
haffaze777:
Thread created by mad man for mad people to masturbate on


Thank God I do know how to ignore mad man,ignoring mad people mode activatedgringrin




What left for you now is to remove your pant enter market grin grin

2 Likes

Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Alexiiydon: 2:14am On Sep 04, 2023
But babangida said if he hear say Yoruba Dey drum for war he will rather go sleep meaning all what op said was because they were pushed to the corner
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by Uyomiya: 6:38am On Sep 04, 2023
haffaze777:
Thread created by mad man for mad people to masturbate on


Thank God I do know how to ignore mad man,ignoring mad people mode activatedgringrin

And you entered in here like a proper mad man
Re: Meet OPC The Terrorists In Yoruba Land A Thread by OkayDaddy: 6:38am On Sep 04, 2023
Obasanjo dealt with OPC harshly and never supported them.
Tinubu condemned Yoruba Nation agitators
But that Agulu bastard is romancing UGM and Ipob killing Igbos.

Igbo lives are the cheapest in this country. Igbo leaders don't even care about Igbo lives.

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I Will Rather Lose Governorship Position Than Abandon Political Godfather– Abba / Production Date: Dangote Refinery Like Orient Petroleum Refinery / Hardship: Don't Allow One Nigeria To Implode - IPOB Begs Tinubu

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