Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, has declared that Igbos will not leave Lagos State due to the orchestrated attacks and arrests of their kinsmen.
The statement was made by the Secretary-General of the group, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, in commemoration of the 2023 Easter celebration.
Isiguzoro urged Igbos to remain steadfast and not fear, as the power of the risen Messiah is with them. He condemned the Igbophobic attacks in Lagos and called for vigilance and resoluteness among Igbos, in line with their adage, “Oke anaghị eri ihe onye mụ anya.”
The group also urged Igbos in Lagos to show brotherly love and support the Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Fredrick Nwajagu, who was arrested for voicing out the frustrations of Igbos in Lagos.
Isiguzoro lamented the continued detention of Nwajagu and called on Igbo SANs, lawyers and activists to demand his release or charge to court.
“We urge Ndigbo in Lagos to be their brother’s keeper by not abandoning the Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Lagos, whose only offence was to speak ‘hoo!haa!’ by voicing out the frustrations his Igbo kith and kin were passing through in Lagos with their lives and businesses under continued and well-orchestrated attacks by terrorists,” the statement read in part.
Isiguzoro also condemned the threat to seize/confiscate the houses of Igbos in Lagos by those who should protect them, stating that Igbos will not leave Lagos for any reason.