The Ogun State Chapter of the Take It Back Movement has strongly condemned the detention of Pastor Kayode Olawoye by the Department of State Services, DSS, describing the action as an attempt to silence civic advocacy and intimidate citizens who speak out against governance failures in the state.
Pastor Olawoye, a cleric and civic advocate, was detained on Monday after honouring what was described as an invitation for a “chat” at the DSS office in Abeokuta. This was reportedly the third time the pastor had been invited by the secret police. Unlike previous visits, however, he was not allowed to leave the facility and has since remained in detention.
The arrest has sparked outrage among residents and civil society actors, many of whom see it as part of a growing pattern of repression against voices demanding accountability under the administration of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun.
Pastor Olawoye had in recent weeks become a prominent voice in the #FixOgunRoads campaign, publicly calling attention to the deplorable state of road infrastructure across the state. Through sermons, community engagements, and media appearances, he highlighted the daily hardships faced by commuters, traders, and residents who navigate what he described as “death traps disguised as roads.”
Reacting to his detention, the Take It Back Movement, Ogun State Chapter, issued a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, signed by its coordinator, Festus Segun Afofun, condemning what it called the “arrest and continued detention of a fearless voice and frontline advocate of the #FixOgunRoads struggle.”
“We strongly and unequivocally condemn the arrest and continued detention of Pastor Kayode, a fearless voice and frontline advocate of the #FixOgunRoads struggle,” Afofun said.
He stressed that the pastor’s activism does not amount to any criminal offence. “Pastor Kayode is not a criminal. He is not a threat. He is a citizen who chose courage over comfort, and truth over silence. His only ‘offence’ is standing with the suffering masses of Ogun State and demanding what any responsible government should have provided long ago: motorable roads, dignity, and basic safety.”
The movement made it known that the Ogun State government is misusing security agencies to suppress dissent rather than address the root causes of public frustration, “It is deeply shameful that while the people are battling death traps disguised as roads, the state has chosen to deploy its security apparatus not to fix the problem, but to silence the messenger,” the statement read.
The statement also criticised the manner in which the pastor was detained, pointing out what it described as a bitter irony. “If Ogun roads were truly motorable, these same officers would have driven to arrest him in Ota. Instead, he had to be lured to Abeokuta; another testimony to the very rot he has been campaigning against.”
According to the Take It Back Movement Ogun State Chapter, the suffering caused by bad roads cuts across all segments of society. “Let it be known: we are all victims of these deplorable roads. Workers. Traders. Students. Pregnant women. Clerics. Drivers. Elders. Children. No one is exempt,” Afofun added.
The organisation warned that detaining Pastor Olawoye would not end public anger or suppress collective pain. “The suffering in Ogun State did not begin with Pastor Kayode, and it will not end with his arrest,” the statement noted. It therefore demanded his “immediate and unconditional release,” arguing that every moment he remains in detention further exposes what it described as a system “more comfortable oppressing voices than fixing problems.”
In a series of emphatic lines, the movement declared: “You cannot arrest bad roads. You cannot detain hardship. You cannot jail collective pain.”
The statement concluded with a warning to the authorities: “If this injustice continues, the DSS should be prepared not for one man, but for the anger, presence, and resistance of a people who are tired of dying silently on neglected roads.”
“Free Pastor Kayode Now!!!” the statement ended.
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