A group, the Yoruba Appraisal Forum (YAF) on Monday, petitioned the United Nations over a plan by the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, to present a petition against the Nigerian government at the 76th General Assembly of the UN.

The petition was served to the UN alongside its five permanent members: the European Union, the African Union and representatives of other countries.

In the document, YAF urged the UN and its other recipients to bar Ilana Omo Oodua and its allies from attending the UNGA where it planned on presenting a petition against the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to the group, the petition in question was written to destabilise the country.

The statement reads: “the ultimate objective of this plan by the group is to achieve nothing salutary or beneficial to the people of Nigeria but to further their evil design to undermine and bring down the country and the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, out of sheer malice over the forthcoming 2023 general elections.”

Signed by YAF National Coordinator, Adeshina Animashaun, the petition further accused Ilana Omo Oodua of funding “the violent activities of the self-styled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Igboho, currently undergoing trial in the Benin Republic.

Ripples Nigeria reported that the Prof Banji-Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua had recently disclosed intent to attend the 76th UNGA scheduled for September to present a petition to the global organisation over its demand for a separate and independent Yoruba Nation from the Nigerian state.