Balogun alleged that certain prominent Oodua self-determination activists, reportedly on the state government's payroll, have been ordered to eliminate him, while security agents have been instructed to arrest him.
Comrade Wale Balogun, National Coordinator of the Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM), has sounded the alarm over threats to his life and that of his family from alleged political thugs linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, known as Team Lagos.
Balogun alleged that certain prominent Oodua self-determination activists, reportedly on the state government's payroll, have been ordered to eliminate him, while security agents have been instructed to arrest him.
He held a press conference in Ikeja, Lagos, on July 27 and again on August 5, 2024, to express support for the #EndBadGovernance protests sweeping Nigeria.
At the press conference, he clarified misconceptions among the Yoruba community who had been misinformed and incited to believe that the Ndigbo community in Lagos wanted to cause chaos in the state.
He called on Yoruba people not to be used to wage an avoidable and unnecessary war against the Ndigbo, emphasising that the national protests to end bad governance are a collective fight against hunger, suffering, and hardship in the country.
During the press conference, it was emphasised that Yoruba people should participate in the protests due to their long-standing tradition of resisting oppressive policies and government programs.
He said, "I speak against the double standards of self-determination activists that were against the peaceful national protests. Aside from a video clip where I called on the Oro cult not to allow themselves to be used against voices of dissent expressing themselves in a peaceful protest.
"I want the world to note that since the media used the text of the press conference extensively, Lagos state government emissaries have been calling on me to meet with the Lagos State government Chief of Staff, Tayo Ayinde and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which I refused to do.
"Instead, I advised the Lagos State government contacts to appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to accede to the demands of protesters and not to forcefully disperse the protests.
"This same message was sent to the DCP of SIIB, Panti through a Superintendent of Police who had called me and initiated a meeting which I tactically withdraw from. I recorded all the conversations because I suspected the sinister motives."
"This statement now becomes necessary because of threats to my life and family. I was reliably informed by two sympathisers that the political thugs of the APC in Lagos state popularly known as Team Lagos, some well-known Oodua self-determination activists on the payroll of the state government have been assigned to take my life while security operatives have also been mandated to arrest me."
He, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police to save his life from APC political thugs and other agents of darkness ordered to terminate his life.
"I also wish to state that I do not have any regrets in calling on Nigerians particularly the Yoruba to exercise their democratic rights to a peaceful protest," he said.
Balogun, one of the unsung heroes who fought for the establishment of the Fourth Republic, protested against the annulment of the June 12 presidential election on Sunday, June 24, 1993, at Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland.
"I cannot fold my hands or keep quiet in the face of misgovernance just because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Yoruba man. If anything untowardly happens to me and my family, I call on Nigerians and the international community to hold Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu responsible," he said.
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