Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA), has urged the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest individuals posting hate messages against the Igbo ethnic group in the South West. HURIWA condemned the tolerance of such tendencies, referencing the lack of action during the last presidential election when President Bola Tinubu lost Lagos to Labour Party’s Peter Obi.
HURIWA recalled the events of March 2023, just before the gubernatorial election, when Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo), then Lagos State Parks Management Committee Chairman, threatened Igbos not voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stay at home. This followed Peter Obi’s victory in Lagos during the presidential poll on February 25. The Rights group lamented that the police rationalized these threats, leading to attacks on Igbo voters, and those responsible, like Bayo Onanuga, were rewarded instead of being arrested.
HURIWA also recalled that Bayo Onanuga, now Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, had warned that 2023 would be the last time Igbos would be allowed to interfere in Lagos politics, showing no remorse even if perceived as threatening.
HURIWA condemned the security forces for permitting ethnic irredentists in Lagos to continue posting hate messages. The Rights group highlighted recent threats on @X (formerly Twitter), calling for ethnic genocide against Igbos in Lagos and the South West, and criticized the federal government for its silence.
The group cited a statement by H.E Atiku Abubakar, Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (2023), denouncing the call for a protest under #IgboMustGo, which demanded the forced relocation of Igbos from Lagos and other Southwest states.
HURIWA’s media statement categorizes the recent threats as genocidal and urges the security forces to arrest and prosecute the instigators to prevent civil strife. They expressed concern over federal appointments of individuals with deep-seated hatred for Ndigbo, such as Onanuga.
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“We call on the IGP to act as the chief law enforcement officer of all Nigeria and arrest those posting threats against Igbos to prevent potential disaster. Let the President ensure his security chiefs do not permit Igbophobia,” HURIWA stated.
