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Igbo elders condemn killings in Imo, other states

Igbo elders condemn killings in Imo, other states

Posted: August 15, 2022 at 2:42 am   /   by   /   comments (0)

SOME worried Igbo elders have strongly criticized recent incidences of crime in Imo State and other parts of the South East, which have resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians.

To that aim, they have urged perpetrators of such atrocities to repent or face the wrath of God and the people.

The elders, who work under the auspices of the Conference of Igbo Elders for Peace and Development, CIED, stated that while collaboration with security agencies on ways to stop killings in Imo State in particular and the South East, in general, was ongoing, their attention was drawn to a statement issued by the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, imputing ethnic agenda into the heinous acts.

The NEF, through its spokesperson, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, had previously raised alarm over purported ‘profiling’ of Northerners in sections of the South.

The following was part of NEF’s statement:  “We are deeply concerned over rising cases of profiling, targeting and killings of Northerners in many parts of the South. The recent murder of Nigerians in Imo State, apparently on suspicion that they were Northerners, is one incident among many recent ones that involve harassment, illegal arrests, attacks, and killings of Nigerians from the North.

“The impression that Northerners are fair game for groups and organizations in the South is forcing Northerners to exercise their rights to travel and live peacefully in any part of Nigeria, only under great danger and fear. This is intolerable and unacceptable.

“The forum demands that governments, communities, and law enforcement agencies protect northerners living in the South.

“It demands clear and emphatic condemnation from leaders, elders, and communities who understand that the welfare and security of all citizens are vulnerable to the degree that other citizens are unsafe in certain parts of the country.

“We serve notice that the North will use the degree to which contestants for political office speak in clear terms to condemn these attacks on northerners as a yardstick for our support of candidates and parties.

“While we appeal to all communities to live in peace with each other, we also demand that killers who target northerners are found and punished.”

In a measured response, the Igbo elders expressed remorse that their northern counterparts could fall to such a low level as to allege intentional killings of their southern relatives.

“While acknowledging the right to free expression, particularly when it affects the interests of individuals and groups, we hasten to warn people of goodwill to be prudent and patriotic on delicate subjects such as the subject of the press release at all times.”

The CIEPD insisted yesterday in a statement jointly signed by its National President, Mazi Festus Edochie, and National Secretary, Mrs. Esther Amadi, that the killings in Imo State and other parts of the South East are purely criminal acts that know no ethnicity, tribe, religion, or political inclination.

“Without mincing words, we condemn the killings witnessed in Imo State, and some parts of Igbo land, even as we have continued our advocacy and sensitization against acts of criminality and barbarism, in whatever guise.

“We also condemn attempts by the Northern Elders Forum, through its spokesman, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, to suggest ethnic profiling and the targeting of Northerners in a case of pure criminality,” the statement read in part.

Continuing, the South East elders cautioned individuals and groups in the country against actions and tendencies that have the potential to exacerbate ethnic tensions, arguing that Nigeria could not afford another conflict at this time of national crisis caused by growing insecurity, excruciating poverty, biting hunger, and general economic woes.

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