Parents and relatives of some youths remanded in the Ekiti state Correctional Centre over a dispute linked to the Bring Back Our Youths in Agriculture (BBOYA) programme have appealed to Governor Biodun Oyebanji to intervene and secure the release of their children.
The youths were participants in the agriculture empowerment scheme implemented in partnership with YSJ Farms Limited, which was designed to encourage youth participation in commercial farming and enhance food security in the state.
Trouble reportedly began when some beneficiaries accused the management of YSJ Farms Limited of alleged sharp practices, claiming they were made to pay N100,000 under the scheme and that the profits eventually disbursed to them were not commensurate with the labour and commitment they invested.
The aggrieved youths were said to have taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the conduct of the programme and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of YSJ, Mrs Oluwayemisi Joluwe, describing their actions as a call for redress rather than an attempt to undermine the initiative.
However, following the online outcry, Mrs Joluwe reportedly petitioned the police, leading to the arrest and arraignment of some of the participants identified as Kolawole Sule, Funmi Olayera, Akilo Tope, Arinde Opeyemi, and Olayemi Ogundele.
The accused youths were charged to court on allegations bordering on conspiracy, offensive publication, unlawful assembly, cyberstalking and related offences and were remanded in custody pending further legal proceedings.
Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, one of the parents, Mrs Yemisi Obelewaji, appealed to the governor to intervene in the matter, describing the continued detention of the youths as distressing to their families.
“Our children joined this programme in good faith because it was presented as an empowerment initiative organised by YSJ in partnership with the Ekiti State Government. They never imagined that participating in a government-backed programme would lead to their remand in a correctional centre”, Mrs Obelewaji said.
She explained that the youths invested their time, energy and resources into farming activities under the scheme, expressing disappointment that their grievances were now being treated as criminal matters rather than issues that could be resolved through dialogue.
She noted that the remand of the youths could portray the state government in a bad light, given that the programme was widely publicised as a joint programme between YSJ Farms and the Ekiti State Government.
“They don’t deserve to be remanded over an avoidable misunderstanding from an empowerment programme designed to help young people. These youths joined the scheme in good faith, committed their time and energy to learning and farming, and only expected to benefit from an initiative meant to uplift them.
“It is quite unfair that they are being treated as criminals for participating in a programme organised in partnership with the state government, which was supposed to encourage and support young people, not punish them
Another relative, Mr Joel Omoyajowo expressed concern over the detention of the youths, stressing the negative impact on their families.
“They don’t deserve to be locked up over what should have been a learning and empowerment opportunity. These young people trusted the initiative and devoted their time to it, believing it was a genuine effort to improve their lives,” he said.
Omoyajowo warned that the situation could discourage young people in the state from participating in government-backed initiatives,sending negative signs about youth inclusion, engagement and trust in public-private initiatives.
He,therefore called on Governor Oyebanji to use his good offices to help resolve the matter, expressing confidence that such intervention would help preserve the integrity of the administration’s youth empowerment policies.