Igbo Woman Demand End To Killing Of Their Youths, Disown Unknown Gunmen
LAGOS JUNE 11TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Igbo women under the aegis of Credible Igbo Women Initiative (CIWI) have distanced themselves from the activities of both known and unknown gunmen in South-East of Nigeria whose activities have created atmosphere of civil unrest in the region.
The group who made the denial yesterday in a press conference held at Yaba, Lagos urged the Federal Government to stop the bloodletting by removing the killer squads from Igboland.
The Igbo women who expressed themselves in a communiqué titled, “Enough Of The Killings” signed by the Convener, Obiagele Okeke and Nkiru Ezeonyeka and other eleven members of the group made available NewsRangers vehemently condemned the activities in Igboland of both known gunmen, unknown gunmen, arsonists and brigands whose actions are clearly calculated to create an atmosphere of civil unrest.
“We are deeply saddened by the wanton destruction of public facilities and targeted killings of security operatives and public servants by the unknown gunmen and extend our condolence to their families and loved ones. .For the avoidance of doubt, these are not our children and they are not acting under the authority of Ndigbo,” they stated.
The group which stated that the Federal Government is obliged to protect all the people of Nigeria, including Igboland which is currently under heavy armed attack by air and land daily, observed that the sustained political instability in Igboland has resulted in the breakdown of law and order with the aberration of their innocent children being killed daily.
According to the communiqué, “Our innocent children are dragged out of their houses, cars and even pedestrian walks, captured and arbitrarily branded IPOB members by security forces with impunity often followed with summarily executed without trial. Those captives that survived the ordeal are subsequently displayed to the press as proof of the security forces’ success.”
The Igbo women lamented that their children are daily dehumanized to the extent that concerned citizens such as Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese have raised the alarm on unidentified corpses in the morgues.
“Such concerns have be reiterated by corporate bodies including the Nigeria Bar Association which has decried the grossly over crowded detention centres in Alaigbo.
“Our farmers have lost their means of livelihood and at times even their lives because of the invasion and destruction of their farms by herdsmen and their cattle due to the Federal Government stance on open grazing. This situation can longer be tolerated,” the Igbo women who wore black dressed in memory of death of their loved ones who died as a result of military invasion stated.
They noted that the systematic neglect of the youths over the years through lack of social and financial incentives, scholarship and skill acquisition support have resulted in mass unemployment and distortion of the social fabric.
Consequently, they demanded that the Federal Government should compensate the men and women whose children met their untimely death in the hands of the gunmen, both known and unknown, console and compensate widows and widowers whose spouses met met their untimely end in like manner.
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