The World Igbo Congress (WIC) has decried the non-safety, threats and killing of Igbo, resolving that an immediate implementation of a robust security strategy should be adopted.

The group recommended that the Nigerian government and international bodies should take immediate and decisive action to protect Ndi Igbo from discrimination and violence, including online hate campaigns.

They also advocated a sustained restructuring dialogue, and advocacy to ensure peace and harmony within the various ethnic-nationalities.

The group resolved at the end of a four-day WIC 2024 yearly convention with the theme: ‘Ka Anyi Jikota Aka Dozie Alaigbo,’ which means, ‘Let Us Unite to Rebuild Igbo Land.’

The four-day convention, held at Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel, Albuquerque, United States (U.S.), had delegates, leaders, and stakeholders from various Diaspora organisations.

The convention was organised to confront existential threats facing Ndi Igbo in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, as well as to forge a united front in pursuit of self-preservation, progress, and justice.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the convention, the group lamented that the aftermath of the 2023 Nigeria elections unleashed a wave of intensified ethnic hostility, specifically targeting Ndi Igbo. 

This hatred, the group said, manifested in acts of destruction and seizure of Igbo-owned property, as well as physical harm across the country.

The communiqué, signed by its chairman, Festus Okere, and its secretary, Chris Ogara, stated that the spectre of Igbo-phobia has intensified and diversified among several other Nigerian ethnic groups within and outside Nigeria, finding expression in calls like “Igbo must leave Lagos,” and “Kill Igbo wherever they reside,” echoed not just by fringe elements but also by some political figures, elites, and members of the ruling class.