The Yoruba Council Worldwide has expressed shock over the statement made by the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate. Fredrick Nwajagu where he threatened to invite members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB to secure the properties of Igbo people in the Lagos state.
The group described it as felonious ,demeaning and treasonable.
In a statement signed by the President of the Yoruba Council Worldwide, Aare Oba Oladotun Esq. In reaction to the inflammatory statement alleged that
The Vituperation by Fredrick Nwajagu is a declaration for simultaneous merciless dealing with the Yoruba people in Lagos State.
According to the group” We are reiterating on various causative agents of destruction led by the Labour Party (LP) Lagos governorship candidate Mr. Gbadebo Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour who made similar spurious statement of burning down Lagos: “if tonight Lagos catches fire, it is not our fault” this was made immediately
hours after voting on the 18th March, 2023 Guber and State House of Assembly elections.”
The group says, Leveraging on all the treacherous misleading statements as a grand conspiracy ploy, symptoms of hate-speech and drumbeats of war mongering.
They however commended the swift arrest of Mr Frederick Nwajagu, and implore the joint team of Police and DSS to swoop and extend their dragnet invitation and arrest others that are fanning the ember of war.
“We anticipate immediate action by the Commissioner of Police over a pending petition submitted by the Omoluabi Coalition Group led by Tunji Balogun at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja since 16th March, 2023.
“Alas, fanning embers of war is highly uncalled for in this very critical point in time, in which consequences of such ill-motivated actions can be dire.”
They further appealed to all Security Agents and other local vigilante security apparatus and groups to ensure 24/7 dusk to dawn surveillance and watertight security measures, inorder to forestall any form of vexatious breakdown of law and order by any person parading themselves as members of the Proscribed IPOB organization or any other like Union or Association.”
“We cannot tolerate any frustrated disgruntled elements to turn Lagos into chaos by wrecking devastating riotous violence and anarchy.”
while appealing to Nigerians that Election has come and gone, and there is need to maintain peace, expect development and good governance, they urged whoever that is not satisfied with the outcome of the electioneering processes and results, to deploy legal means in addressing their grievances at the court instead of taking laws into their hands.
The group recalled and condemned destruction of public and private valuable assets during the End Sars Protests which left unmitigated tales of woes, tears and blood; wherein Police Station at Orile-Iganmu was raised to the ground, several exotic and expensive BRT buses were burnt down, magnificent ultramodern TVC and Radio Continental Stations alongside sophisticated transmission assets were all raised to ashes.
“We cannot forget so soon how the Lagos High Court building with many important records, archives and documents were lost to the vicious criminal and maniacal arsonists.
“Many supermarkets, offices and shops were equally looted, many businesses thrown into huge losses, life became unbearable and lawlessness and anarchy reigned unhindered.
In order to avert the repeat of the dark period in the history of Lagos State, the group advised law enforcement agents to rise up to curtail the impending violent threats before it boomerangs and snowball into full-blown crises.
The group demanded the immediate Abolition of All Non- Yoruba Indigenous Eze Ndigbo titles in Lagos State, and by extension all Yoruba Land.
“We call on the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to sign an Executive Order Abolishing all such un- gazetted illegal titles of Eze Ndigbo etal, while the Lagos State House of Assembly should review the Lagos State Chieftaincy laws on guiding prerequisites on confferement of traditional titles to Non- Indigenous Yorubas in Lagos State, and by extension other Southwestern States Governors and Legislative Houses should as a matter of necessity follow suit accordingly.
“We can no longer tolerate the excessive threats witnessed by the various Eze Ndigbo groups in the recent times at both the State and Local Government levels, down to inner streets and hoods across the state, most of whom do not have any iota legitimate right of confferement to any Chieftaincy titles.
“Most regrettably majority of those self-acclaimed Eze Ndigbo do not hold any title in there villages, only to come down outside their ancestral territorial boundaries to cause unmitigated mayhems, make provocative utterances and political grandstanding (Lagos is No Man’s Land).
“This extremely seditious provocative statements by the likes of Mr Frederick Nwajagu, Ezeife, Patrick Rhodes Vivour, Nwayanwu, Yusuf Datti Baba Ahmed and others are condemnable, for this is in gross contravention of the extant laws of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The statement added
The state statement suggested that henceforth all Eze Ndigbo should be addressed as Leader, President and Coordinators of the their domiciled Ohaneze Ndigbo town Unions jurisdiction and locations forthwith.
“Once again we urgently call on the Law Enforcement Agencies to caution, warn and call any person parading themselves as Eze Ndigbo or IPOB in Lagos and other parts of Yoruba Land to order, so as not to drag our peace loving people into unnecessary mischievous controversies and vulgar attrition.” The Statement concluded.
