Igbo in Taraba petitions Ohanaeze over attack by Fulani Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
The
Igbo living in Taraba State have ran to the Igbo apex organisation,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the South-East governors to save them from the
attacks from Hausa-Fulani.
They have also called on the duo to
urge Governor Dairus Ishiaku of Taraba State to ensure the security of
lives and property of Igbo in his state.
The people who through
one of their leaders, the Eze Igbo Dan-Anacha, Gassol local government,
Taraba state, Chief Ozor Joseph Ezeh, had addressed Ohaneze on the their
ordeal in Taraba state alleged periodic attack on them by the Fulani.
According
to the Igbos in Taraba, all the attacks on them have been unprovoked,
and led to looting of the property and in most cases burning down of
their shops, in presence of security operatives without and caution or
arrest, just as the state government has allegedly remained unconcerned
about their plight.
Narrating their ordeal he said, “On Sunday
being 3rd of June, 2018, the Fulanis went to Dinya community and
attacked the people there who are Tivs but during a gun battle that
ensured, the Tivs had upper hands and they retrieved.
“On Monday
they entered another community, Dan-Anicha and regrouped and teamed up
with the Hausas there and started rioting around 6am till about 5pm when
the situation became uncontrollable.
“At this point they began to break into shops owned by Igbo indigenes and were carting away their goods. “What
surprised everyone was that the SARS people came fully armed, the
mobile and conventional police came there fully armed and the army also
came fully armed but they did not make any attempt to stop these people
from looting the property of the Igbo.
“They just parked
themselves one side and were watching these attackers braking into the
shops and looting our people’s property without making arrest. The worse
is that these people carried these property they were looting and
crossing before them and the security operatives did nothing but were
just there as if they came to give them coverage to carry out the
looting operation.
“All the shops inside Dan-Anicha park
belonging to Igbo indigenes were looted and majority of the shops burnt
and along Bornu Kurukuru road all the shops belonging to Igbo indigenes
there were looted and the shops burnt and the security operatives were
all around watching them do all that without taking any action.
“This
attack on Ndigbo there started by 6am on Monday and ended 6:00a.m., on
Tuesday, without any interruption by the security operatives who were
present. “This is not the first time this kind of thing is happening,
on October 13, 2001 they carried similar attack on Igbo and on November
20, 2017, the same Fulani people had problem with Tiv people and they
(Fulani and Hausa) pounced on the shops of Igbo people and looted them
without any interruption by the security operatives. “On that day
they attacked me physically, gave me machete cuts and turned my house
upside-down and burnt down all my shops and ruined my business.
“We
have come to make this report officially to Ohaneze Ndigbo and the
South-East Governors because the Taraba State government has continued
to ignore our reports and petitions to it as it has not made any effort
to stop these attackers or arrest any of them. “It has not also made
any effort at consoling the Igbos or gives them relief for their means
of livelihood that were taken away forcefully from them.”
Ezeh
said the development has made them to ask some questions as to the hope
of the Igbos in the state and whether the Governor does not consider
them as Nigerians.
“Our question is, is Igbo not part of Nigeria
that the Governor of Taraba state both old and present refused to do
anything concerning what the Fulani and Hausa people are doing to Ndigbo
in the state?
“We are asking Taraba State Governor, Dairus
Ishiaku, what is the hope of Igbos in your state? We are pleading to him
to consider the plight of the families that their shops were looted and
burnt and render assistance to them so that they can start life again
if indeed we are one Nigeria.
“We want the Ohaneze Ndigbo to intervene and reach the Governor Ishiaku and ask him if he does not want Igbos in his state?”
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