By: Sunday Ameh
A coalition of 130 Pan-Yoruba groups has petitioned the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, over what it described as a looming genocide against the Yoruba people in Western Nigeria.
The petition, signed by Popoola Ajayi, Secretary-General of the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM), alleged that a network of terrorist groups operating within and outside Nigeria was plotting to invade Yoruba territories.
Citing the September 17 attack in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, where 15 people including women and children were killed by suspected Fulani militants, AYDM described the incident as a prelude to wider assaults.
“The mass murder of 15 people in Kwara, including women and children, by Fulani terrorists was a prelude to the mass invasion of Yoruba territories by heavily armed terrorists known for their thirst for blood and human flesh,” Ajayi said.
The groups accused sections of Nigeria’s security operatives of being compromised and some political elites of complicity, warning that the latest attacks form part of a historical pattern of violence dating back to the 1804 Jihad.
They also referenced past atrocities, including the assassination of Oba Israel Adeusi, the Olufon of Ifon, in 2020; the Owo Catholic Church massacre of June 10, 2022, that left 40 worshippers dead; and the 2024 killing of Oba Segun Aremu, the Onikoro of Ikoro, whose wife was abducted.
AYDM’s Demands
The coalition urged the UN to intervene immediately by compelling Nigeria to respect the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, convening an emergency Security Council meeting to push for restructuring and self-determination, and investigating Ukraine’s alleged role in financing Sahel-based terrorists.
“The Yoruba are peace-loving and detest violence, but we will not watch helplessly while our people are massacred. The UN must act now to prevent war, not after genocide has been committed,” the petition warned.
The letter was co-signed by leaders of several Yoruba and allied organisations, including the O’odua Peoples Congress (factions), O’odua Nationalist Coalition, Okun Peoples Association, Kwara Indigenous Peoples League, Yoruba Artisans and Traders Association, and South West Professionals Forum.
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