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From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has condemned what it termed organised and systematic attacks on defenceless persons from the South East and other non-indigenes in Lagos State witnessed during the just concluded general elections.
The group described what went on in Lagos as genocidal Igbonisation and warned the state was descending dangerously into a genocidal enclave, like Rwanda.
Chairman of Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, in a statement, yesterday, lamented that Lagos State was gravitating away from the centre of excellence into a breeding ground for hate against other ethnic nationalities.
He said United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and European Union (EU) must avoid treating Nigeria with the conspiracy of silence of ‘the three musketeers’ in the Rwandan genocide, adding that Onanugas, Tinubus, Kayodes, Oluomos and others must let South Easterners be and avoid pushing them to the wall.
“It is alarming and shocking that the fundamental human rights of members of any ethnic nationality in Nigeria or any part thereof to conscientiously and freely vote or choose candidates of their choice during elections have been ethnically stigmatised or criminalised using cultural violence policy of “genocidal Igbonisation.
“It is further shocking and alarming that the dastardly act is pioneered by state political actors and their agents-with the country’s security and intelligence forces blatantly and brazenly exhibiting unwillingness, inability, inaction and conspiracy of silence.
“Shocking and alarming too is the fact that the ethnic profiling and its genocidal Igbonisation are being oiled and fuelled by former respected members of the Lagos school of democracy and human rights-once celebrated globally as ‘Nigeria’s democracy and human rights champions’ who singlehandedly ousted the country’s darkest military gangs and their era.
“It is democratically abominable and unheard of that conscientiously voting candidates in an election or elections has become a ‘treason’ or ‘crime against the state’-warranting unleashing state actor jungle justice against such group or individual voters. We also wonder when it has become an international best practice to force or dictate to individual or group on whom to vote for or whom not to vote for in an election or elections.
“The Intersociety is calling on the ICC Invitees and others breeding genocide or inciting ethno-religious cleansing against defenceless easterners in Lagos and other parts of the country to carefully learn the bitter lessons of the Rwandan genocide of April to July 1994.
“They must timely be warned to allow defenceless easterners to live in peace with their neighbours in dignity. The last time we checked, easterners, particularly members of the Igbo ethnic nationality are present in not less than 90 countries of the world, including the most powerful among them; thereby making them the most travelled and pastorally settled, educated, industrious and connected ethnic nationality in Nigeria.
“Despite their large size, the ethnic nationality is the most peaceful in Nigeria. With such global network and connections, pushing them to the wall and into genocidal self-defence will most likely have serious retaliatory effects and consequences far beyond the imagination and containment of those fanning the embers of the anti-Igbo/eastern genocide.
“It is, therefore, dangerous and a time-bomb threatening such populous, strategic and powerful ethnic nationality with genocide or incitement to them,” Umeagbalasi said in the statement.
