Apex Igbo sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has written an open letter to the Inspector General of Police over the sighting of herdsmen in possession of AK-47 in Anambra state.
The letter titled, The Road to Anarchy, signed by the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo told the IGP that they will not fold their arms and allow gun-toting marauding Fulani herdsmen to continue harassing, raping, maiming and killing them in their own homes.
The Inspector General of Police sir, Ohanaeze Ndigbo is alarmed by this wanton act because of the danger it portends. This raises the following questions:
1. Is the bearing of unlicensed firearms (especially sophisticated ones like Ak-47) no longer illegal and therefore punishable in breach in the laws of this country?
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2. Do we now have different laws for different ethnic groups in Nigeria? If it were to be members of IPOB or any other group other than Fulani that bear such illegal arms what fate would befall them?
3. Does the impetuous action and utterance of the Fulani leaders not a clear and definite invitation to anarchy? If everybody in this country, irrespective of tribe, carries such firearms to protect himself, will the security agencies be able to contain the mayhem that will ensue?
4. Can the IGP imagine what fate that would have befallen any Igbo leaders in any part of the North who dare challenge their hosts and the police with such impunity and callousness?
“Mr Inspector General of Police sir, Ohanaeze Ndigbo believes that there is enough tension in the country already to allow room for more. But, it is only a tree that they tell it will be cut down and it remains motionless waiting for the axe.
“The principle of self-defense is even enshrined in the statutes of the country. Peaceful coexistence is a prerequisite for development.
“The police is by statute empowered, equipped and expected to make peace between two warring factions and not to take sides or protect one group.
“The action of the police in Anambra State is, to say the least, despicable and a tacit invitation to anarchy. Except a coward, nobody will ever run away from his fatherland and leave it for another to occupy. Ndigbo are not cowards.
“The behaviour of the police probably explains why it is only police commissioners from a particular part of the country that are posted to Igbo land. This also tends to lay credence to the fears being harboured by our people that even the military laying siege on Igbo land are here to protect the interest of an ethnic group. Not only have Ndigbo been marginalised in this country, they are even being pushed to the brink.
“It is always said that no country survives a second civil war.
“Like I always say, Ndigbo are ever capable of defending themselves. They will not fold their arms and allow gun-toting marauding Fulani herdsmen to continue harassing, raping, maiming and killing them in their own homes. We are law-abiding, hospitable and always ready to coexist with others as friends and brothers but not as foes and at a supreme price.
“Enough is enough.”
