Elders in the South East under the aegis of the Ibo Senior Citizens Affairs Foundation (ISCAF) have appealed to the international community to intervene on the ongoing attacks on Igbo traders in Lagos State before it snowballs into a full-blown inter-ethnic crisis.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, ISCAF President Bishop Maglorious Enyioha lamented that the traders have been unjustly treated while carrying out their daily business activities.
Enyioha said Igbos in Lagos have lost millions of naira to the various attacks but noted that they have been constantly restrained from seeking vengeance.
Enyioha who emphasised that the Igbo are peace loving people vowed that they would remain in the country despite the ill-treatment they have been subjected to, even as he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to compensate them before leaving office.
He said, “We have been appealing to the youths not to enter any form of demonstration or action that will cause a breach of peace in the country but unfortunately, they’re being pushed to the wall, they’re molested, their properties destroyed.
“That’s why we are appealing to the leaders of the world to intervene in the present state of the nation so that they can see how they will call things to order before it triggers off to what we can not control.
“What happened in Lagos State recently means Igbo are rejected in their own country, we are supposed to start seeing the action of the Federal Government, Mr President should intercede and not wait for the incoming administration.
“We from the east, we’re peacemakers, kind and love developing anywhere we are, Igbo are everywhere but today what is happening in the country is alarming, we demand equal rights, liberty and equity because we jointly owned the nation.”
Recalling the 2023 presidential election, Enyioha said he has never witnessed such pointing out that Nigerians irrespective of their tribes came out to exercise their franchise but regretted that their expectations have not been met.
Meanwhile, Enyioha has reiterated the call for the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu’s release, Enyioha said will douse a lot of tension, particularly in the South-East and Nigeria generally.
