Lawmakers reject ethnic profiling over non participation in nationwide protests

• Halt Genocidal Plot Now, Ohanaeze Tells FG

National Assembly members from the South East have rejected what they called “ethnic profiling of Igbos against the background of ongoing mass protest”.

The lawmakers, in a statement by Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and Representative Igariwey Iduma Enwo, charged security agencies to bring to book purveyors of such ethnic profiling.

The statement explained that “the Igbo nation, in obedience to the advice of their leaders – Governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians and others in the private sector, had taken a reasoned and strategic decision not to participate in the ongoing nationwide protests. This is evident in the relative calm experienced in the five South Eastern states.”

They expressed surprise and disappointment “that Igbos are still made scapegoats and targeted as instigators of protests, as shown in several statements (such as the Igbo Must Go hashtag and call by a certain ‘Lagospedia’ X(Twitter) handle) and videos seen online.”

The lawmakers said the dangerous ethnic profiling was unwarranted and must stop.

They recalled that it was such profiling that led to millions of deaths in Nigeria from the 1950s to the unfortunate civil war of 1967 to 1970.

“Elsewhere in Africa it led to the genocide in Rwanda and the xenophobia in South Africa. Such should not be our fate again in Nigeria. We demand, therefore, that the security agencies bring to book the purveyors of these hate speeches in line with the cybercrimes act and criminal laws of the country. We continue to appeal to Igbos across the country to stay away from the protests and remain law-abiding,” the statement added.

Similarly, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, on Friday, expressed outrage over the reported threat against Ndigbo in Lagos and other South-West states.

The group, in a statement by the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, warned that any attack on Ndigbo in any part of the country would come with dire consequences.

Okwu, in the statement titled ‘Enough is Enough’, vowed that Ndigbo would follow up with commensurate reaction should there be any attack on them in any part of the country.

He said the people of the South-East had kept quiet for so long, hence endless unprovoked attacks on the Igbo people in other parts of the country.

“We want to unequivocally declare today that Ndigbo are not cowards; our forefathers were not cowards; they were brave and so are we. For decades now, Ndigbo have borne the brunt of every crisis in this country; they have paid the price for every upheaval in the country.

“This is one of the major reasons we decided not to be part of the hardship protest or whatever they called it. We knew that the moment we identify with it, they will term it Igbo protest.”

Yet, the same enemies of Ndigbo, the same people who are lurking for the blood of the Igbo people are unrelenting.

“However, we want to sound this note of warning to them; ‘Enough is Enough’. Any attempt to spill the blood of an Igbo man or destroy their businesses and properties will be visited with equal retaliation.

“Those threats will be resisted; henceforth any attack on any Igbo man anywhere in those aforementioned areas must be revenged with every seriousness. We are one of the cardinal pillars of this country, so nobody should threaten the Igbo in this country any longer,” he said.