The Arewa group in Northern Nigeria has received a severe warning from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), asking them to stop inciting violence against the Igbo population.
The pro-Biafran organization asserted that it was informed about planned attacks against Northern Igbo people, purportedly in reprisal for the recent deaths of northern hunters in Edo State.
Igbo people were not involved in the alleged death of the hunters in Edo, IPOB emphasized in a statement issued Monday by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful.
Last week, at least 16 Northerners who were accused of kidnapping were lynched in Edo. IPOB denounced what it called coordinated attacks by Fulani extremists, claiming that they were manipulating ethnic tensions to further their own agendas.
“We have been reliably informed that certain individuals are already issuing threats against Ndigbo in the North.”
“Innocent Igbo individuals, such as Uche Abagana, have been murdered in Kano due to the incident in Edo State.”
“We urge indigenous Hausas to be cautious and not allow themselves to be used by Fulani elements seeking to incite ethnic violence,” the statement read.
The Igbo community in Northern Nigeria was also urged by IPOB to increase their level of security awareness and get ready to defend themselves from any threats.
Igbos are law-abiding people who value peace, the organization reaffirmed, but they would no longer put up with attacks on their lives and property that go unpunished.
In order to destroy what they see as a colonial system created to further the interests of Western imperialism rather than the Nigerian people, IPOB called for unification among all indigenous Nigerian ethnic groups.
IPOB’s declaration raises fears about possible conflicts and instability during a period of increased ethnic tensions in the nation.
