Anthony Iwuoma
A group of Igbo elders have condemned cases of criminality in Imo State and other parts of the South East.
The region has been overtaken by violent and criminal acts, leading to the killing of innocent citizens.
The group, Conference of Igbo Elders for Peace and Development (CIEPD) urged the perpetrators to desist from the wicked acts or face the wrath of God and the people.
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However, the elders took exception to a statement by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), alleging ethnic agenda.
The NEF spokesman, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, had in a statement expressed deep concern “over rising cases of profiling, targeting and killing of northerners in parts of the South. The recent murder of Nigerians in Imo, apparently on suspicion that they were northerners, is one incident among many recent ones that involve harassment, illegal arrests, attacks, and killing of Nigerians from the North.”
The Igbo elders deplored the position of the NEF that the criminal killings were targeted at northerners.
CIEPD stated: “While conceding the right to freedom of expression, especially as it concerns the interest of individuals and groups, we hasten to advise people of goodwill to, at all time, be circumspect and patriotic on sensitive issues such as the subject-matter of the press statement.”
Nevertheless, it urged security agencies to collaborate and tackle the killings, especially in Imo, and the entire South-east region.