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No fewer than 18 suspected agitators of the Yoruba Nation who attempted to seize Oyo House of Assembly located a few metres away from Oyo State Government Secretariat, yesterday, were arrested by the police.
The masked men, as gathered, dressed in Army camouflage and armed with rifles, occupied strategic points in the Secretariat.
While some of them manned the entrance of the Governor’s Office, the rest were reportedly seen at the entrance to the state House of Assembly’s gate and the main entrance.
The situation sent shock waves across the entire area as security operatives on duty at the Secretariat fired tear gas canisters to disperse them while some of them were arrested.
Officers of the state Police Command and other anti-crime agencies stormed the Secretariat in numerous patrol vans. Sporadic gunshots rent the air sending panic to residents around the axis.
Motorists plying the route made a detour as other road users scampered to safety. On the other hand, road users en route to the Secretariat were diverted along Customs Junction as the Secretariat-Queen Elizabeth Road was cut off to traffic.
It was gathered that efforts of the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Security, CP Sunday Odukoya (retd), to calm the situation upon sighting the masked men were futile as they insisted on hoisting their flag in the Secretariat.
