…Seeks FG’s Intervention.
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Group, under the guise of ‘Arewa People’s Unity Association’ (APUA), has accused Sunday Igboho, leader of the O’odua People’s Congress, of “ethnic profiling and dehumanizing Northerners” resident in the Southwest.
In a press release, dated Thursday, July 2, 2026, and signed by APUA’s National Chairman, Alh. Adamu Aliyu and National Secretary, Dr. Aliyu Ahmad Tijjani, the group described Igboho’s activities as “nefarious” and said he was operating under the guise of a ‘security outfit.’
APUA alleged that Igboho had proposed a native security structure for Yorubaland outside the national security framework, in the name of “Amotekun” to profile Northerners as terrorists.
“He has been terrorizing innocent Northerners that have lived their entire life in the Southwest, profiling them as terrorists and subjecting them to all manners of dehumanization and embarrassment,” the statement read.
The group condemned the development and urged the Federal Government to call Igboho and his associates to order “to avoid any likelihood of reprisal and national disintegration.”
APUA also faulted the Lagos State Government’s recent demolition exercise in Alaba Rago, a settlement it described as predominantly Northern, also lamenting that the state’s urban renewal quit notice to traders and kiosk operators led to demolitions and vandalism of stocks without compensation.
While acknowledging the state’s right to manage land, APUA said such actions must comply with the Constitution and the Land Use Act, urging Lagos to provide alternative settlements and compensation to affected residents who, it noted, contributed significantly to the state’s informal economy.
Titled, ‘Ethnic Profiling, Cleansing Targeting Northerners Residence In The South,’ APUA warned that, “Otherwise, it will look like person of a particular region is being quitted and which will not augur well for the unity desired in our current political history.
“The attention of the Arewa People’s Unity Association (APUA) has been drawn to the nefarious activity of Sunday Igboho, the leader of O’odua People’s Congress, masquerading in the guise of Chief Security Officer of the Yoruba nation.
“It is on record that he proposed to the government in the south-west the idea of instituting a native security outfit to take over the security of the entire Yorubaland outside the national security architecture.
“Meanwhile, he had gone ahead operating under the name of Amotekun, terrorizing innocent northerners that had lived their entire life in the southwest, profiling them as terrorists and subjecting them to all manners of dehumanization and embarrassment.
“As peace and unity entity of the North, we are condemning this in a very strong term and urging the Federal Government to call Igboho and his cohorts to order, to avoid any likelihood of reprisal and national disintegration.
“In the same vein, the Lagos State Government, in its urban renewal plan, had issued quit notices to traders and service providers operating in bonkers, kiosks, and shops to enhance implementation of its development plans,” the group stated.
It added that, “This single act of the government affected the residence of Alaba Rago, a predominantly northerners’ settlement in decades.
“At the expiration of the quit notice, a task force bounced on this community, demolishing structures and vandalizing stocks and businesses, resulting in colossal losses without the government paying them compensation.
“As much as the state has the right to use available land space, it has to be in accordance with extant provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria and the Land Use Act.
“It is expected that the government provides alternative locations for settlement and stabilization as they meaningfully contribute immensely to the economy of the state informal sector,” it added.
APUA stated that it is a non-political and non-profit-making organization, with attached contacts bearing Alh. Adamu Aliyu 08032833313; Dr. Aliyu Ahmad Tijjani 08065609218.