‘Buhari treating herdsmen with kid gloves’

A Diaspora Igbo group under the platform of the Igbo Ekunie Initiative has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of treating killer Fulani herdsmen with kid gloves.

The group’s declaration followed the killings of about 50 persons in fresh attacks on Benue communities by suspected Fulani herdsmen on New Year Day.

The Igbo group described as an irony for the Federal Government to proscribe the Indigenous People of Biafra that was innocuous while patting herdsmen who had inflicted pains and agony on Nigerians on the back.

While saying that the proscription of IPOB was presumptuous and unacceptable, it asked Buhari to reconsider the ban.

Speaking at a press conference in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Wednesday, the President of Igbo Ekunie, Mr. Tochukwu Ezeoke, asked Buhari to negotiate with IPOB before the 2019 general elections or the Igbo would have no other option but to review their stand with the government of the All Progressives Congress.

Ezeoke insisted that IPOB was not a terrorist organisation, adding that the purported proscription of the group would continue to be resisted until the right thing was done.

He said, “2019 is around the corner. It’s a time to take decision. Herdsmen cannot be killing our people and somebody will look the other way, but had to proscribe IPOB that is innocuous. It is disingenuous to allow that; it’s unacceptable.”

The group’s statement read in part, “We therefore call on President Buhari, governors of the South-East, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, opinion leaders, and human rights groups to engage IPOB and other self-determination groups in fruitful dialogue that will address their grievances and permanently end agitation across Nigeria.

“In the same vein, we call for the immediate withdrawal of all charges against IPOB members and the unconditional release of all detained members.”

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