Ohanaeze youths reject Miyetti Allah’s call for creation of vigilante groups in South East

Tribune Online
Ohanaeze youths reject Miyetti Allah’s call for creation of vigilante groups in South East

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide (OYC) has rejected the calls for the establishment of vigilante groups in the southeast to protect members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).

The group said this in a statement on Sunday signed by Ohaneze Youths President General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro and made available to newsmen in Abakaliki.

According to Isiguzoro who said that most houses and streets in the South East employ northerners as security personnel, said that except the South Easterners get rid of those Fulani youths as their gatemen and watchmen, all their outbursts against the establishment of Fulani Youths Vigilante groups will amount to nothing.

He also added that such vigilante has already been in existence in the zone albeit unofficial and is already a security threat to the region which needs to be discontinued forthwith.

The statement reads: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council worldwide wishes to appreciate the condemnation against the demands of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria to officially establish the Fulani Youths Vigilante groups to complement the efforts of other security apparatus or vigilante groups in the South East.

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“But the truth must be told that Fulani Youths Vigilante groups have been existing here in South East Nigeria for decades unofficially, and we appreciate the comments of Chief Nwodo Jnr that he will resist the establishment of Fulani Youth vigilante group.

“We observed that over 90 per cent of the mansions and houses owned by Igbo politicians, Igbo businessman and opinion leaders are keeping Fulani youths as gatemen and watchmen, including the house of Chief Nnia Nwodo at Enugu.

“We now wonder, how can someone be shouting about resisting Fulani Youths Vigilante groups when he has been paying the same Fulani Youths as gatemen for decades.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth council worldwide observed that except we get rid of those Fulani Youths as our gatemen and watchmen, our outbursts against the establishment of Fulani Youths Vigilante groups will amount to nothing, when the Fulani Youths Vigilante groups are unofficially operating in our midst for decades and even most tenants in the South East prefer the Fulani Youths Vigilante guarding their streets than our local vigilante groups.

“Except Ndigbo do the needful, the Fulani Youths Vigilante groups are unofficially operating in the South East, and that’s what gave the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria the effrontery and audacity to look at our leaders face to face at South East Security Summit Enugu, and demand their official recognition.

“They (MACBAN) are fully aware of those guarding our mansions in the South East are enough to constitute a militia to deal decisively against the people of the South East. In our local adage ‘oke no n’ulo gwara Oke no ohoa na Azu no na ngiga’,” he maintained.

Recall that MACBAN made the demand during a security summit in Enugu last week convened by the Southeast Governor’s Forum.

Ohanaeze youths reject Miyetti Allah’s call for creation of vigilante groups in South East
Tribune Online