Igbo Must Go: Behave Like The Chief Law Enforcement Officer Of Nigeria – HURIWA Tells IGP

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged security agencies not to tolerate any form of Igbophobia currently trending on social media.

The group argued that those boldly sharing hate messages against Igbos residing and doing legitimate businesses in the South-West were emboldened by the fact that the Police tolerated same tendencies during the presidential election.

Speaking via a statement on Friday, the National Coordinator of the group, Emmanuel Onwubiko, recalled that in March 2023 just before the gubernatorial election, one Musiliu Akinsanya, the then Lagos State Parks Management Committee Chairman, also known as MC Oluomo, had warned Igbos in the state ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

The group stated that MC Oluomo threatened Igbos who would not vote for the All Progressives Congress to stay at home.

The statement quoted MC Oluomo as saying, “We have begged them. If they don’t want to vote for us, it is not a fight. Tell them, Mama Chukwudi, if you don’t want to vote for us, sit down at home. Sit down at home.”

The group noted that the threat came after Peter Obi won the presidential poll in Lagos

The rights group said “regrettably the police through the Force Public Relations Officer who hails from the South West attempted to rationalise these unambiguous and open threats to the lives” of the Igbo ethnic group just as “armed political thugs then went ahead to attack Igbo voters indiscriminately”.

“Till date, those who made the threats were never arrested but were rewarded with juicy appointments.”

HURIWA recalled that “Mr. Bayo Onanuga who is now Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy openly warned Igbos that 2023 general poll is the last time they will be left in peace to interfere in Lagos State politics and affirmed that he has no apologies to make even if his words are seen as threatening Igbos.”

The group subsequently condemned the security forces including the Police for allowing “ethnic irredentists and hate criminals in Lagos state to continue to post hate messages targeting certain ethnic nationalities including the recent one on X/ Twitter in which the account owners were quoted as calling for ethnic genocide against the Igbo in Lagos and South West.”

The rights group wondered why the federal government has maintained “sealed lips over these toxic and hate messages.”

The group called on the “IGP to behave like the chief law enforcement officer of all of Nigeria and go after those posting threats against the Igbo and get them prosecuted and punished before they set Nigeria on fire.

“Attempt to carry out any threat against the Igbo in any part of Nigeria could spell doom for Nigeria and this is not what the nation needs at these troubling times.

“Let the President ensure that his security chiefs do not permit, tolerate Igbophobia.”