The Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has commiserated with the northern Muslim clerics, traditional rulers, and Arewa Consultative Youth Forum over the killing of some northerners in Abia State.
In a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and sent to journalists in Kaduna, the group condemned the killing but maintained that the Igbo would remain devoted in providing succor to the families and people affected by the attack.
“Those who carried out these heinous conspiracies against humanity in Abia, the killers of northerners in Abia are not Igbos. The preliminary investigation revealed that they migrated from neighboring states and fled to their states after the attacks.
“We commend the Northern Elders Forum, Arewa Consultative Youth Forum and Coalition of Northern Groups for their quick intervention to forestall possible breakdown of law and order, especially reprisals against the Igbo living in the North, and the Abia State Government has shown maturity in handling the matter,” the statement read in part.
The group also said full compensation must be paid to the bereaved families and people whose businesses were destroyed in Abia, as it would be the balm to soothe the pains and trauma of those who lost their beloved ones.
“We will continue to work with the northern leadership to ensure that the interests of North and Eastern Nigerians are protected. We want to categorically state unequivocally that nobody will stop northerners from doing their cattle business in the South while we dismiss IPOB’s threat to ban cattle business in the East. The Igbo are doing business in the North without molestation, so nobody should harass those doing business in the East,” it added.
