Anthony Iwuoma
Foremost Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has accused northern groups of using insecurity in the South-east to blackmail presidential candidates from the region.
It urged President Muhammadu Buhari, Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to condemn the killings of Christians in the North instead.
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The Secretary-General of Ohanaeze, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, was reacting to alleged killing of northerners in the South East.
“We are stunned over the blackmail from ACF and NEF against the Southeast Politicians over the killing of Northerners in the Southeast,” a statement by Isiguzoro read in part.
“We are fully aware of the fact that there are attempts by Northern Groups and APC to use the insecurity challenges in the Southeast to blackmail the south East Presidential candidate in 2023.
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“We want to ask President Buhari, ACF, and NEF, what efforts they deployed to thwart and halt the spread of Northern banditry and vicious activities of killer herdsmen from the North to the south.”
The statement further expressed concern that the government failed to act on intelligence from the United States and United Kingdom.
“Why did Federal Government and Northern Cultural Organisations ignore the US and UK alarms about the imminent spread of Northern Insurgency to the south by the middle of the Year 2021, especially towards the East? We have taken the lead in condemning the killing of Northerners in the East and charged President Buhari, ACF, NEF and Northern Groups to follow suit,” it added.