Secession: Ohanaeze Begs Buhari Over North’s Exit Request For South-east

The Chidi Ibeh-led faction of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to grant the wishes of some Northern elements for the South-east to secede from Nigeria, insisting that the Igbo are no longer safe in the country as there are conspiracies against them.

Ezenwoko’s Blog had reported that some northern elders filed a suit before an Abuja High Court praying for the secession of the Igbo out of Nigeria to stem the tide of violence and destruction allegedly caused by the agitation for secession championed by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/538/2021, the plaintiffs led by Nastura Ashir Shariff, Balarabe Rufa’I, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman, and Aminu Adam are praying the court to compel the National Assembly to hasten the exit of the South-east before the conclusion of an ongoing constitutional amendment.

They claimed that they do not want a repeat of the 1967-1970 civil war that cost the country millions of lives and property worth billions of naira.

Reacting in a statement issued yesterday by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze applauded the Northern groups for indirectly divulging alleged clandestine conspiracies from the North to push the South-east out of Nigeria, as being championed by the Coalition of Northern Nigeria Groups.

The statement reads, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has assessed the standpoints of the Northern Groups that approached Abuja Federal High Court to request that the National Assembly should be coerced by the Court before their conclusion of the ongoing constitutional amendment to allow the South-east to exit from Nigeria.

“The plaintiffs, led by Nastura Ashir Shariff, Balarabe Rufa’I, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman and Aminu Adam, explained that their action is informed on the need to curtail violence and destruction as a result of the agitation for secession championed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

“We described this Northern tricks against southeast as a welcome development, We are supporting the Igbo lawyers led by Chuks Maoma SAN on their verdicts to join the suit, as the Northern Group is sponsored by politicians to tow this destructive routes.

“Ohanaeze applauded the Northern groups for indirectly divulging that there are clandestine conspiracies from the North to push out the Southeast out of Nigeria, as being championed by the Coalition of Northern Nigeria Groups,” the exponents of these demonic and erratic campaigns to exit the southeast from Nigeria were sponsored by Northern Governors, and we are urging the Federal Government to assent to their requests since it appears that south-Easterners are no longer acceptable and protected by the Federal authorities in policies and practices.

“All these shenanigans are afraid of IGBO succeeding President Buhari in 2023,” the Northern coalition forces are considered to be disciples of late Mallam Maitama Sule, who was the first to admit that South-east deserves to succeed Buhari in 2023, we cautioned that Igbos are already on the ground, and we are open to all options either to remain as part of Nigeria or FG to assent to the Northern conspiracy theories of exiting the southeast from Nigeria, It’s high time Federal Government negotiates with Igbo because Nigeria Unity is negotiable.”