From Desmond Mgboh, Kano

Igbos in the 19 Northern States and Abuja have expressed concern over allegations by Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) Chairman Ango Abdullahi to the effect that Igbos were responsible for a majority of attacks against Northerners in the South during the #EndSARS riots.

President General of Igbo Delegates Assembly, an umbrella body of all Igbo Community Associations in the region, Chi Nwogu, disclosed this on Monday while speaking to Daily Sun in Kano.

According to the Igbo leader, the allegations attributed to Abdullahi during a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt was in bad taste and unstatesmanly, adding that it serves to undermine the existing peace and cordial relationship between the Igbo community and their Northern hosts.

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He said that they are deeply shocked at the allegations, stating that despite the known persuasions of Ango Abdullahi against the people of Eastern Nigeria, they never expected him to drive to the extreme of instigating hatred and bad blood against peace-loving Igbo people in the region.

Chi Nwogu insisted that his administration had taken time to cross-check the facts of the tragic incident and has since verified that the allegations by the former university professor were callously unfounded, stressing that all available evidence pointed to the fact the tragic #EndSARS riots in many parts of the country were not ethnically motivated and did not target any particular ethnicity or group.

He appreciated that stakeholders in the North are working for a peaceful relationship between Igbos and their Northern hosts, as he tasked governors of the South-East states and any other Igbo-speaking state to prioritise the safety and security of all Northerners resident in their midst.

He maintained that peaceful coexistence and brotherly understanding remained the only pathway to attain the dreams of the founding fathers of the country.