Those behind Oyigbo genocide ‘ll pay dearly – Nnamdi Kanu vows
* As Igbo group issues 72-hr ultimatum to Wike
* I never ordered military to kill Igbo – Wike
By Steve Oko
Piqued by the dehumanization and mass slaughter of Igbo youths in Oyigbo (Obigbo), Rivers State by security agents enforcing a curfew imposed by Gov Nyesom Wike, Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has vowed that “all those who have a hand” in the pogrom will never go unpunished.
Kanu, in a press release he personally signed and made available by Emma Powerful, warned of a severe consequence for the perpetrators
“Everybody that has a hand in the ongoing #obigbogenocide must know that vengeance is coming, its not a matter of if but when.
“And when it does come, apologists for Wike and the army must remember what happened at #Obigbo.
“Those newspapers, professional gossipers, so-called civil society and human rights groups that have sought to pretend they are not aware of what is happening or have deliberately and satanically twisted the narrative to suit the demands of their paymasters in Abuja, will continue to wrestle with their conscience.
“All the media houses that have so far failed to call out Nyesom Wike for the brutal pogrom that is happening in #obigbo must know they too will not be forgotten.”
Kanu regretted that a spontaneous reaction of Nigeria youths to police brutality and bad governance had been given an ethnic coloration to create the wrong impression that the action was instigated by the Igbo.
He queried why the Igbo living in Obigbo should be isolated for victimisation of an action that took place across the country.
“There were riots and disturbances all over Nigeria. Nigerian army and police have killed and continue to kill hundreds of young people and in retaliation young people attacked police stations.
“To single out the inhabitants of #obigbo for extermination is a vicious and evil undertaking and a calculated attempt by Wike to please his Fulani masters and Britain that tried but failed to exterminate the Igbo race between 1966-70.
“#obigbo will not die, it shall rise again because the blood of the innocent is crying out for revenge.
“The 1966 alliance of the axis of evil is once again at play. History has taught us not forget, we will not forget.
“Vengeance is coming and with it the judgement of God. Those children in #obigbo murdered by Wike have nephews and cousins who are so embittered to the point that they can no longer be controlled.
“I feel sorry for Wike, his children and all collaborators in this brutal genocide.”
Kanu however,was silent on when and how the perpetrators of the Obigbo genocide would be called to book, adding that he will no longer make public pronouncement on the matter.
“Those asking us to retaliate today should bear in mind that the timing and place of what is to come is our choosing.
“As Nigeria have not mourned those being put to the sword by Wike and Nigerian army in #obigbo they must bremember not to mourn Wike and his allies when the table inevitably turns.
“Twist the narrative all you like, nobody can stop the hand of time. When the rain begins to fall, remember I warned you.
“I will not write, neither will I comment on this issue again.”
Meanwhile, a pro-Igbo group known as the Igbo National Council, INC, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Wike to withdraw the soldiers from Obigbo or be dragged to the International Criminal Court.
But Wike has flatly denied ordering the killing of Igbo in Oyigbo.
The killing has generated global condemnation.
INC President, Chilos Godsent, gave Wike the ultimatum while speaking to reporters in Owerri after alleged reports he said showed that soldiers were killing innocent persons in Oyigbo (also called Obigbo) following the outcome of the #EndSAR protests.
Despite Wike’s denial of inviting the military INC sharply disagreed with him, saying that troops in Oyigbo were there on the governor’s order just to negotiate a vice presidential slot for himself in 2023.
INC said: “The Igbo National Council condemns the ongoing massacre of Igbo people in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State by the blood -thirsty brigands of the Nigerian Army backed by the Nyesom Wike-led government of Rivers State.
“We have noted the treacherous broadcast by Governor Nyesom Wike regarding the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra in Rivers State and arrived on the conclusion that Governor Wike is dancing ‘surugede’ and will soon be disappointed.
“We have done the analysis of the treacherous and unholy romance of Governor Wike with the blood-thirsty murderous Nigerian soldiers whom Wike commissioned to massacre the Oyigbo residence of the Igbo.
“Intelligence available to the Igbo National Council shows that the satanic alliance of Wike with Jihadists Nigerian soldiers was triggered by his inordinate and desperate ambition to vie for Vice President in 2023 presidential race. The script is that Wike must show to the Jihadists that he has the capacity and willingness to attack and try to exterminate the Igbo race in Rivers State as condition to get the support of the Caliphate.
“The Igbo National Council therefore wishes to advise Wike to go back to school to read history in order to be clear-headed of what the outcome of his new alliance will be in 2023. When they finish using him, they will dump him like they dumped Adams Oshiomhole, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and many others.
“The INC therefore calls on Wike to immediately recall those blood-thirsty killer gangs of the Nigerian soldiers that are rampaging in Oyigbo, killing innocent armless Nigerians while Boko Haram is busy sacking many communities in Northern Nigerian states.
“Consequent upon the above, we therefore give Nyesom Wike seventy-two hours from Tuesday 3rd November 2020, to withdraw those murderers disguising as Nigerian soldiers from Oyigbo or we shall declare a Fatwa on Nyesom Wike and also petition him to the International Criminal Court, ICC, on offence of genocide.”
Wike who insists he never ordered the massacre of Igbo youths in Obigbo, described the allegation as balderdash and politically motivated.
The governor stated that the curfew imposed on Oyigbo was to restore calm in the area after members of the IPOB killed six soldiers, four policemen and destroyed all police stations and court buildings in the area.
Wike gave the explanation on a live television programme in Port Harcourt, Monday, arguing that the narrative that Igbo were being killed by the military is intended to shift attention from the despicable activities of IPOB in Oyigbo, which is a boundary area adjoining Abia State.
His words: “I know that this is not the first time IPOB has used Oyigbo as launching ground. The security agencies are aware. IPOB added a new dimension this time. They killed six Army officers and burnt one. They killed four Police Officers.
“They destroyed all the Police stations and court buildings. What offence did we commit as a state?I imposed curfew to restore calm. I proscribed IPOB activities anywhere in the state. Don’t forget that the Federal Government had declared them a terrorist group. It is not the entire Igbo that believe in IPOB activities.
”So, it’s not true that I ordered the military to kill Igbo in Oyigbo. When did I become a friend to the military? What about the Igbo living elsewhere in the state, are they also being killed?
Wike claimed that if IPOB is allowed to operate from Oyigbo, they will soon overrun the state.
The governor said the government had commenced moves to replace all the property destroyed by the group during the protest, regretting that the damage has left a huge financial burden on the state.
Wike also said the state had decided to compensate each family of the killed security personnel with N20 million to cater for the welfare of bereaved widows and their children.
Wike further said that the #EndSARS protest and its aftermath would have been averted if the federal government had not dismissed the alarm he earlier raised on the activities of SARS as mere politics.
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