A civil rights advocacy group-Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has raised the alarm over alleged plots by some “Igbophobic forces” in both the political, media and civil society spaces to engineer genocidal killings of Igbos to stop the people from becoming the presidential candidate of any of the two dominant political parties: the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 polls.

HURIWA, in a statement on Monday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, has therefore asked Igbo leaders, including the global leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the World Council of Igbos, the governors of the Igbo speaking States, elected and appointed political stakeholders, religious, traditional and civil rights advocacy groups in the South East, to take immediate, comprehensive, and proactive measures to stem the tides.

The rights group further alleged those championing the anti-Igbo campaigns were already funded by one of the leading aspirants for the Presidency who is considered influential in the South West of Nigeria.

HURIWA accused the ethnic irredentists masquerading as politicians and religious leaders of working to generate enough hatred that could spark off ethnic genocide against Igbos.

HURIWA warned that should Igbo leaders sit back, looking forlorn and laid back and refuse to smell the coffee and analytically understudy the trends of anti-Igbo sentiments in both the popular media and the social media of mass communications, then the apostles of genocide who hate Igbos passionately and are already deploying their pulpits and traditional stools and their media outlets to promote anti-Igbo sentiments may have their way.

Calling for the alleged apostles of hate speech to be investigated, HURIWA said Igbo leaders must approach President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to table the media published diatribes and hate speeches against the Ndigbo which were deliberately put out in the media to provide signals for armed non-state actors that hate Ndigbo to stage well-coordinated genocidal attacks against Igbo interests and individuals residing in all parts of Nigeria because all that haters of any ethnic groups need is to be fed with anti-Igbo sentiments in the media.

HURIWA stated that since the 2019 polls that Senator Oluremi Tinubu openly canvassed hate speeches directed at the Ndigbo resident in Lagos over her perceived fear that the large majority of Ndigbo may vote for PDP, the anti-Igbo sentiments have taken a more sinister and deadly dimension since her husband said “his life time ambition is to become the President of Nigeria,” other foot soldiers have upped the ante of their anti-Igbo rhetorics.

The rights group recalled the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, declaring that he cannot trust any Southeaster to be the President of Nigeria

HURIWA said his stand was coming at a time the South-East was demanding for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction, on the basis of equity.

The Oluwo, according to HURIWA, noted that the sit-at-home order issued by the members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) was not only inimical to their survival but also to the growth of the nation.

“You can’t be a leader on sectional interest. With such unsophisticated, primitive and uncivilized thinking, no Nigerian from other zones will vote a south easterner as their President,” HURIWA quoted the Oba as saying further.

The group also recalled that Atiku Abubakar's main man who is the Chairman Emeritus of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, had said that the separatist activities of Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), would jeopardise the chances of the South-East region to produce the President of Nigeria in 2023. But the group pointed out that in a recent statement, Dokpesi stressed that he was a firm believer in a united, indivisible Nigeria.

HURIWA also accused one Apostle Johnson Suleman of the Omega Fire Ministries of spreading hate speeches against Igbos when he said Nigerians do not trust Igbos because they don’t support themselves.

The group quoted Suleiman as saying while preaching in his church, that Igbos tear themselves down at any given opportunity. Citing reference of how Igbos have fought against each other, Suleman said an Igbo Senate President, Evan Enwerem was removed by another Igbo man, Chuba Okadigbo.

HURIWA described Suleiman as a closet hater of Igbos who has now started deploying his so-called Church to instigate hatred and hate crimes against Igbos that may result in genocide.

The rights group therefore called on the leaders of the South-East to take these agents of Igbo phobia up, to stop any of their evil intentions from materialising against Ndigbo before the 2023 general elections.

Update news