•They’re false alarmists —Prof Madubuike

•Security operatives should invite those behind the claim for questioning —Abia monarch

•It’s politically motivated to create mistrust between North, South

•It’s alibi to cover atrocities of killer herdsmen in the region —Enugu resident

•Produce the corpses, Onitsha bizman tasks group

•Come up with evidence or proof of this dangerous assertion; stop stoking trouble —Owerri residents

By Anayo Okoli & Steve Oko

Recently, there was a bogus report in a Northern-based national daily, quoting one Dr. Auwal Aliyu, said to be the Coordinator of the Northern Consensus Forum, and others, who were said to have directed commodity traders and truck drivers from the Northern part of the country to shun the South-East region, citing alleged incessant killings of their members by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. They claimed that they had declared three days warning strike, due to the alleged constant killings of Northerners in the South-East zone.

They also made a bogus claim that over 100 Northerners were murdered in the region between December 4 and 10, according to report.

However, they did not name the places where the alleged killings took place nor mention the names of the victims. The spurious claim have evoked angry reactions from leaders and people of the South-East region, who saw the baseless allegations as a way of inciting crisis between the Igbo and the Northerners, and warned against such dangerous trend.

It’s a lie from pit of hell —Ohanaeze

First to react was the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who described the claim as “a lie from the pit of hell.” Dismissing the claim as trash, Ohanaeze questioned the identity of the Dr. Aliyu, saying “he has not been in the picture among the Northern leaders resident in the South-East and as such not in a position to speak on the relationship between the Northerners residing in the zone and their hosts.”

Insisting that nothing like that happened in the region, Ohanaeze wondered “the very intendment of the purveyors of such a false, mendacious and devilish alarm,” saying that Aliyu has inadvertently reduced the worth of a Nigerian to that of a chicken that could be slaughtered in hundreds within a week.”

Ohanaeze challenged Aliyu and his group “to locate the corpses of the said 100 persons,” warning them that “such false alarm is a security threat capable of causing pandemonium across the country.”

Demanding proof of their claim, the apex Igbo socio-cultural body cautioned Aliyu and his group against making baseless wide allegations capable of stoking trouble among ethnic groups.

“We note with sadness, that various forms of insecurity such as banditry, kidnapping, herders-farmers clash, etc, have come to define our daily lives. We hold the view that while some aspects of the insecurity in Nigeria are amorphous, the IPOB are a known group that can be negotiated out of the present socio-economic quagmire.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the alarmist publication in question is politically motivated to create mistrust between the North and the South. It is important to inform the “new-breed” chauvinists that the Igbo friendliness, hospitality and cosmopolitanism have often found profound expressions in diverse inter-ethnic relations in Nigeria.

“For instance, a Fulani man from Sokoto Caliphate, Mallam Umaru Altine, was in 1952 elected as the first Mayor of the City of Enugu, the heartbeat of the Igbo nation. He contested for a second term and won and remained in office till 1958. Also in 1959, the Igbo, led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, supported Alhaji Tafawa Balewa to become the Prime Minister of Nigeria. Furthermore, the Igbo led by Dr. Alex Ekwueme supported Alhaji Shehu Shagari to become the President of Nigeria in 1979; also to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007 and in 2015, a group of Igbo led by Dr. Chris Ngige, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, among others, supported the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari.

“It is, therefore, curious that the first time an Igbo man, Mr. Peter Obi is gaining unprecedented authentic national and international endorsements based on his outstanding performance credentials, to the leadership of the country, instead of appeal to justice, equity and reflective mutual reciprocity, some crisis entrepreneurs are sowing the seeds of discord and deep mistrust between the North and the South- East.

“The Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide lays no pretensions to the insecurity in the South-East of Nigeria but frowns at any form of mischief that incites the North against the South-East. In other words, the likes of Aliyu are drawn to a recent remark by Sarkin Hausawa or the Leader of the Northerners in Enugu State, Alhaji Abubakar Sambo, who, speaking on the cordial relationship between the Northerners and their Igbo hosts, said that he can confidently say that they have a strong bond and that they feel like a part of the governments.

“Yes, we have a lot of representatives in various committees in the Enugu State Government. In the security committee, we have the representatives of the Commissioner of Police, the Director of SSS, Commissioner for Justice and Attorney- General of the state who comes in person”. The above Sambo euphoria is reflected in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo states of the South-East. This, indeed is the Igbo characterization, Ohanaeze spokesman, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia reminded Aliyu and his group.

Question those behind the claim, Abia monarch tasks security operatives

Reacting to the spurious claim, a foremost Abia traditional ruler, Enachioken Abiriba, Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu called on security agencies to invite for interrogation, those behind the wide allegation, saying that it was a serious issue. The monarch who also dismissed the claims as lies from the pit of hell, insisted that there was no way such a serious genocide could have happened without the knowledge of the security agencies.

Eze Ogbu expressed disappointment over both the claimants and the publishers of the “untenable publication”, saying they wanted to use it as a smoke screen to set the country on fire.

“Such claim is coming from rabble rousers. There is nothing like that anywhere in the South- East. If something like that happened, there should be evidence and the security agencies would be aware.

“There is no way 100 Northerners would be killed in the South-East within one week and there will be no single evidence. Where are the families of the victims? They should have been the ones raising the alarm. This is a big lie from the pit of hell and nobody should believe it. The masterminds are trying to cook up things to see if they can trigger crisis in the country.

“They know they are losing on all sides. They don’t want the country to grow, so their intention is to start crisis so we can start fighting one another while they keep holding the country to ransom. Nigerians are wiser.

“They should be invited by the security agencies for questioning over these spurious claims, and if they fail to substantiate them, they should be punished for raising false alarm”, the monarch stated.

It’s handiwork of false alarmists—Prof. Madubuike

Former Minister for Health and Education, Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike, who was infuriated by the spurious allegation, dismissed it as baseless, and demanded urgent investigation of the claim and those behind it by security agencies. He wondered what those behind such sensitive and unverified publication wanted to achieve.

“How did that come about? Was there any investigation? How can somebody just run with unsubstantiated claims? Is the publisher of the report an errand journalist or what was the purpose? We don’t publish in order to perish, we publish in order to educate,” he said. He called on the security agencies to quickly pick up those behind the claim for interrogation and necessary action.

“Security agencies should arrest those behind the spurious claims and publication. It is just akin to when you are playing in a football field and you stimulate a fall in order to get a penalty. The referee rather penalizes you,” the former minister noted.