by Sagay Agbalaya
I didn’t go into the Director’s office as “One Sagay Agbalaya” as @Obajeun reported in his article, I went as the representative of others with their consent. In fact, @Obajeun was the first person to say I should speak on behalf of others when it was apparent that @KemiOlunloyo was there as a “journalist”.
Before now, I didn’t believe there was any need to write a special report on what happened during our visit to SSS office at Aleshinloye, Ibadan. My thought was that others had tweeted and wrote reports about the events. I also made a couple of tweets myself.
I however believe there is an urgent need to clarify some issues based on various reports that we now have in the public domain. I learnt about the protest on Friday when @Shecrownlita called to inform me about it and that there should be a march at Ibadan. I had been off twitter for most of the day so I didn’t know about the build-up for the protest until about 6.00pm (Nigerian time) when I received her call. She had picked a venue for us – Mokola Bridge.
I got to Mokola Bridge a few minutes past 10.00am on Saturday and about 4 people were already on ground. We began moving around the vicinity of the bridge, carrying our placards, to make some awareness while others joined us. I noticed a woman, later identified to me as Kemi Olunloyo, joined us at some point. It was my first time of meeting her as we had never interacted even on social media before. There was none of the protesters that I had met before that day except @Gboukzi who later had to leave for an appointment somewhere.
When we were ready to proceed to the SSS office, @KemiOlunloyo was still talking to people. From the body language of people present, it was obvious they were not comfortable with her.
It is true that when we got to the SSS office, @KemiOlunloyo told the agents she was there as a journalist. She actually introduced herself as an activist and a journalist but that she acting as a journalist to cover our protest. At this point, the SSS officers asked who was leading the protest and we all informed them that there was no leader. We explained to them that we were not a group, and in fact, most of us had never met one another before. At this point, our placards were seized from us and @Obajeun’s camera was taken from him. They insisted that someone should speak for us as they were not comfortable with the fact that almost everyone was trying to talk at the same time.
@Obajeun mentioned my name at this point. I believed most of the other guys agreed with this and I proceeded to tell the officers why we were there. We were thereafter led into their premises where the State Director was waiting for us at the gate. The Director asked that @KemiOlunloyo and myself, as the “leader” of the protest should come into his office upstairs. I dropped my bag, my galaxy note and my two phones with @Adekunlemao.
As we moved behind the Director, he asked that the other protesters should also be brought in and they should be placed in a waiting room. An instruction was given that their mobile devices be submitted before coming in.
The Director received us at a room which looked like a conference room. He appeared to be disturbed as to why we would be protesting the release of someone we didn’t even know. This was after he had quizzed us about the group we were working for. We made it clear that we didn’t even know one another and that we were only concerned about the freedom of @Ciaxon. Before then, we read on twitter that he had been released but we were waiting for confirmation. The Director left us at some point only to return to inform us that he had confirmed that Isiaka Yussuf had been released. The team asking us questions kept asking the same questions over and over again until when they decided we could leave.
Before leaving, myself and @KemiOlunloyo were asked to write down our email addresses, phone numbers and twitter handles. I included my blog address – www.sagaySagay.com. I remember joking with someone that I was happy I don’t keep nudes in my mail.
When we came down, I went into the waiting room to call on the other protesters that it was time for us to leave. Everyone went to the gate to retrieve their phones. My phones were apparently submitted by @Adekunlemao as I retrieved the devices myself. @Obajeun pointed out that he was yet to get his camera and same was produced. He however told the officers that his sun shade was broken while the camera was seized from his neck.
When we all got out and away from the vicinity of the SSS, we had a little chat and everyone embraced as comrades after we took some photographs.
I was however shocked when I read a report by @Obajeun as published on HERE. I’ll respond to the allegations contained there-in as follows:
THE LIES:
1. Nobody asked for any of my passwords.
It is not true that they asked for everybody’s passwords. Nobody asked for mine. In fact when @Shecrownlita & @Rosanwo asked me about the password issue this morning, I was shocked because it was the first time it came to my attention.
@Obajeun wrote:
“We were called one after the other to open up our phones, write down our emails and passwords including our twitter handles and passwords.”
I couldn’t immediately refute the allegation because I didn’t know what happened to the protesters in the waiting room. I can’t remember anyone mention that his password was taken. However, I still assumed they could have asked them while I was not there.
I contacted a few folks who I now follow on twitter to confirm if the SSS officials demanded for their passwords.
@fayupoumping, @OlaMaskot and @Asccheim all told me via DM that nobody asked for their passwords. I also asked @azeez_muhammed who did not even respond but went on his TL to write that nobody asked for his passwords.
While I cannot categorically say if indeed anyone was asked his password since I have not been able to reach everyone, it is malicious to say that they asked for everyone’s password.
I don’t know what transpired while I was at the Director’s office, but I must put it on records that nobody told me they asked for his password after we left the SSS office.
2. I didn’t go into the Director’s office as “One Sagay Agbalaya” as @Obajeun reported in his article, I went as the representative of others with their consent. In fact, @Obajeun was the first person to say I should speak on behalf of others when it was apparent that @KemiOlunloyo was there as a “journalist”.
3. Kemi Olunloyo being the reason we were released.
It can’t be true that we were not arrested and just detained because Kemi Olunloyo went with us. We were there to make our grievances known just like other protesters did in other parts of the country and I’m yet to get any report of where anyone was not allowed to return home.
I wish to use this medium to salute everyone who participated in the campaign.
Thank you.
One Sagay Agbalaya (…That appears to be my new name.)
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Sagay Agbalaya tweets from @SagaySagay
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
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