The Abia State Elders Consultative Forum says, President Muhammadu Buhari, by his shoot-at-sight order, is plotting to wipe out the entire Igbo race.
The Forum in a communique issued on its behalf by Archbishop Dr Princewill U. Ariwodo ‘JP’, its National President; and Rev. Dr Joseph Chidiadi Adiele “JP”, its National Secretary, asked Buhari to immediately rescind such divisive and inciting orders to shoot Igbo Youths protesters at sight, and the evil motivated postings of the core Muslim Military Commanders to the South-East without further delay.
“According to the widely circulated report from the Sahara Reporters News outfit dated May 8, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Nigerian Military to re-invigorate the security outfit on the South East and South-South zones of Nigeria; and to shoot on sight any Igbo Youth on protest.
“The move for the implementation of the order is alleged to commence in Orlu, Imo State and spread to other States of the South-East geopolitical zone of Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and the Ebonyi States.
“Consequently, Igbo youths and men are erroneously arrested and labelled IPOB (Indigenous Peoples of Biafra) members and without fair hearing are killed like chickened without prosecution before a competent Court of Law in our land Nigeria.
“A case in point is Mazi Eze Awurum, a non-IPOB member who had a score to settle with his Traditional Ruler and the Army cashed on it immediately and arrested him on Wednesday, May 12th, but later on Thursday, 13th May 2021, killed him extra-judicially, in a cold blood and without any trial.
“He and many others like that were not allowed to state their own side of the case; thousands of Igbo men and Youth have been assassinated in this manner.
“In support of this evil plot by the Presidency, it has pre-conditionally witnessed the recent postings of core Northern Muslim Military Commanders to man the South East Military formations as a grand conspiracy to wipe out the entire Igbo race, and this points to the long plot of ethnic cleansing and annihilation of Igbos. The use of Core Northern Military Commanders to man the South East Military formations is to conceal any evidence of the extrajudicial massacre of Igbos to the Nigerian public and the International Community. This is barbaric and unbelievable, and unavoidable calls for Igbo leaders vehement reactions.
“Our Stand: The Abia State Elders Consultative Forum, rising from her meeting today Friday, May 14, 2021, after due deliberations on the matters, here declare as follows:
1. The Presidency should immediately rescind such divisive and inciting orders to shoot Igbo Youths protesters at sight, and the evil motivated postings of the core Muslim Military Commanders to the South-East without further delay.
2. That youths arrested should henceforth be charged and given a fair trial at a Court of competent jurisdiction, while others who met their untimely death through these gruesome assassinations and extra-judicial killing pattern of the Buhari Administration should be accounted for and the perpetrators punished in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
3. Finally, we have also declared that we the Elders of Abia State are in full support and so adopt the pragmatic efforts of the Ohaneze Ndigbo in championing the efforts and cause of Ndigbo.
