Igbo leaders, under the aegis of The Igbo Conscience (TIC), have lamented the high level of insecurity in the entire South-East region, saying the region is in the state of helplessness, as people were being killed in their numbers each day, with wanton bloodletting and atrocious destruction of businesses and means of livelihood becoming the order of the day in the land.

The group raised this concern at a press conference in Lagos addressed by its leaders, Mr Joe Igbokwe, calling on the Federal Government to intervene and arrest what it described as “this dangerous state of anarchy” by drafting more security forces and agencies to the region to save the people from themselves.

TIC made this call in reaction to the gruesome murder of Dr Chike Akunyili, husband of the late Chairman of the NAFDAC, Prof Dora Akunyili, expressing shock over the incident, even as it sadly noted that the recent murder of the medical doctor by unknown gunmen was just a tip of what was happening currently in the five states in the region.

According to the group, such has been a recurring picture since the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) launched armed warfare against the South-East.

“In their helplessness, Igbos are being killed in their numbers each day and wanton bloodletting and atrocious destruction of businesses and means of livelihood have become the order of the day in Igboland today,” he said.

Igbokwe, who spoke at the press briefing attended by other leaders, including Comrade Declan Ihekaire, Peter Clever Okpara, among others, demanded that the Federal Government should consider the option of declaring a state of emergency in the South-East or at least some states of the region to arrest this dangerous state of anarchy, while it also demanded that the government should identify, arrest, prosecute any person, group, interest and organisation found to actively procure, support and facilitate the state of anarchy presently ravaging the region.

He said the government should do all within its power to tame the conflagration in the South-East in order to save Igbos from what he described as “a self-inflicted ruination.”

“We hope the Federal Government will quickly and deftly attend to these demands before South-East goes to extinction. TIC states that we can’t continue like this. We demand that this is time for quick and decisive action,” he declared.

(Nigerian Tribune)

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