OPC Denies Link To Adelabu Family Abduction

The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has denied that its members were involved in the abduction of the sister of a former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and her twin sons.

Naija News reports that the group said those arrested in connection with the incident were not affiliated with the organisation.

The Yoruba socio-cultural group commended the Nigeria Police Force for the swift rescue of the victims in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday.

It, however, urged security agencies to show the same urgency in rescuing 39 pupils and seven teachers abducted by terrorists in the Ogbomoso area of the state.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday, the OPC President, Wasiu Afolabi, popularly known as Askari, said the organisation had a long record of supporting law enforcement agencies in tackling crime and providing neighbourhood security.

Afolabi said the OPC could not be linked with criminality, adding that anyone falsely claiming membership of the organisation while committing crimes should be treated as an impersonator.

“OPC has no association whatsoever with those arrested over the Adelabu family kidnapping. They are not our members. Our members subscribe to not just a physical registration but a spiritual oath that they will invite disaster upon their heads if they indulge in any act of criminality,” Afolabi said.

He added that members understood the consequences of violating the organisation’s code of conduct, particularly when such acts were committed against fellow Yoruba people.

The OPC president said the organisation had, in the past, sanctioned members found guilty of misconduct, including expelling those who violated its rules.

He said the group had consistently removed members with criminal tendencies since the days of its founder, the late Dr Frederick Fasehun.

“OPC remains one of this country’s most disciplined organisations. Since the days of the Founder, Dr Frederick Fasehun, of blessed memory, members showing criminal tendencies have been shown the way out; and in some cases, they were handed to law-enforcement authorities,” he said.

Afolabi alleged that some individuals who could not meet the organisation’s standards of discipline had left to form factions, insisting that such groups were not under the control of the mainstream OPC.

“The main OPC body has neither control over nor association with such misguided and mischievous miscreants. If apprehended, such people should be made to face the full wrath of the law,” he added.

Afolabi said the swift recovery of the Adelabu family members showed that criminals could no longer operate freely in Yoruba land.

“The speed with which this case was resolved shows that there is no hiding place for criminals in Yoruba land,” he said.

The OPC president urged security agencies to extend similar commitment to the rescue of the Ogbomoso pupils and teachers who have remained in captivity since May 15.

He said the OPC had repeatedly offered to support governments in the fight against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats.

Afolabi added that the group had the manpower and local knowledge required to complement state security efforts.

“We still maintain that we have the numerical capacity, the spiritual resources and the physical acumen to assist the society and the government to fight these raging occurrences of insecurity.

“Although the governments of the South-West have not invited us, we assure them that our offer is still on the table,” he said.