Our Reporter
Igbo women under the umbrella of the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) have raised alarm over the worsening security situation in Okigwe, Imo State, particularly the alleged disappearance of youths in the gateway town.
IWA also condemned the rising wave of killings across communities in the South-East.
The socio-cultural women’s group, which has been at the vanguard of the Igbo cause, demanded investigations into the activities of the Ebubeagu regional security outfits operating in Imo and Ebonyi states, with a view to establishing their true mission.
Similarly, IWA called for a probe into possible links between Ebubeagu and the boys of a former Niger Delta militant leader, who once claimed he was engaged by the Federal Government for security operations in the South-East.
“Most of the places he said his men were fighting are the hotbeds of insecurity in Imo State today. Who is actually behind the barbarism in Imo State?” IWA queried.
The group challenged security agencies to rise to the disturbing insecurity in Okigwe, arguing that their silence could no longer be tolerated.
Igbo women further condemned what they described as “unprovoked xenophobic attacks against Ndigbo in South Africa, Ghana, and even in Lagos.”
“All those behind these animalistic acts – inciting attacks against Igbo both within and outside Nigeria – should retrace their steps. Ndigbo are enterprising, loving, hospitable, non-violent, and do not in any way deserve the incessant attacks against them, whether at home or abroad,” the group stated.
IWA maintained that “hard work should not be rewarded with envy but with commendation.”
“Probably because the government failed to punish those who attacked Igbo businesses in Lagos in the build-up to the 2023 elections, others now see unprovoked attacks against the Igbo as an act of heroism. But from now on, Igbo women shall no longer keep quiet!” the group warned.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Monday by the National President of IWA, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, who declared that Igbo women had firmly resolved to rise against the anomalies in the South-East.
“The senseless killings in the South-East, especially in Imo State, can no longer be allowed to fester. Igbo women are determined to take risks to end this nonsense if the federal and state governments fail to act expeditiously.
“Igbo women will rise to defend our ancestral land rather than watch our children being slaughtered like cows after surviving the 1967–1970 genocidal war that claimed over three million of them,” the statement added.
IWA alleged ethnic cleansing, citing the modus operandi of the perpetrators of insecurity in the South-East, and wondered why they have continued to operate unchallenged.
“How can armed men just invade a community and start shooting everybody on sight? The recent massacre at Arondizuogu without a single arrest, despite the heavy presence of Ebubeagu and federal security checkpoints on our roads, cannot be swept under the carpet. Igbo women demand accountability because the victims are our children and husbands. In that same Arondizuogu attack, a couple from Umuafai Umuahia, together with their house help, were gruesomely murdered in one day,” the group stated.
According to IWA, many communities in Igboland, especially in Imo State, “have been deserted due to the ongoing senseless killings of innocent and defenseless people,” vowing that “this atrocious evil cannot be allowed to continue.”
“We equally call for an end to the ongoing disappearances of youths in Okigwe. The insecurity in Okigwe town and neighbouring communities is getting out of proportion. Our youths in these areas are being killed like chickens on a daily basis.
“Communities like Agbobu, Umulolo, Aku near Ihube, and Umuowa in Mbato are all deserted. It is the same story at Isieke, Awomanma, Akokwa, and parts of Anambra State. Even traditional rulers of these communities, as well as their subjects, are now refugees in other lands while gunmen have taken over their villages.
“We want a proper investigation into the identities and real sponsors of these criminals driving Igbo men and women from their ancestral homes. Security operatives should explain their role, action, or inaction in the continued killings and disappearances of Igbo youths in Okigwe town. Okigwe has virtually become a ghost town. Who are those moving from house to house abducting youths in Okigwe? Why are Nigerian security agencies not stopping this madness, or will they pretend not to be aware of it?”
Continuing, IWA asked: “If those behind this strange act in Okigwe are non-state actors, why is the government quiet? If they are security agents, where are those they have been arresting?”
The women lamented that many institutions and residents of the gateway town, including staff and students of Abia State University, Uturu, “have been forced to abandon their homes and relocate to other towns.”
Decrying the economic impact of the worsening security situation in Okigwe, Igbo women called for urgent intervention.
“Many businesses in Okigwe have since collapsed. Why is the government pretending not to be aware of this pathetic situation? Okigwe has become too dangerous to live in. It has been taken 30 years backwards because of insecurity.
“If there are forests taken over by criminals, security operatives should go after them and engage them there. But to tag every youth in Okigwe a terrorist is unacceptable to Igbo women,” they stressed.
IWA said they decided to speak out because political leaders had proved helpless over the plight of the Igbo.
“We are crying out because we know that our political elite have been conquered, coerced, and cowed into submission. Igbo women can no longer wait but must rise to tell the world the true situation in our ancestral land.
“We will not consider any sacrifice too big to stop the desolation of Igbo ancestral land, should the international community also look away in criminal silence.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the killings in Igbo land bear the signature of terrorism and the face of ethnic cleansing, especially the disappearances of youths in Okigwe and its environs. Government should tell the world what it is doing to stop the ongoing atrocities. Enough is enough!”
IWA blamed the growing insecurity in the South-East for the mass migration of Igbo youths, a trend it said posed an existential threat to the race.
“This strange development is taking a toll on the entire Igbo land. Our youths are migrating abroad in droves not just in search of greener pastures but for fear of the unknown. Many businesses are also relocating from the South East, and investors are scared to come in. The adverse economic impact is enormous.”
The women further accused the Federal Government of insincerity in its approach to restoring peace in the South-East, arguing that it cannot continue to detain the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and still claim to be committed to peace.
“It is our belief that the Federal Government cannot pretend to be serious about restoring peace in the South-East while refusing to release Nnamdi Kanu despite several pleas and court orders.
“Since Kanu’s continued detention is alleged to be fuelling insecurity in the South-East, simple logic demands that he should be freed as proof that the Federal Government is genuinely committed to restoring peace in the region. We, therefore, challenge the government at the centre to do the needful if indeed the disturbing situation in Igbo land is not serving its interest,” the statement concluded.
