By Vincent Kalu
The President of the Indigenous Igbo Youth Congress (IIYC), Chief John Mayor Echefu, has appealed to both the federal government and the Lagos State government to release the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Fredrick Nwajiagu.
He also pleaded with the Imo State government to release Mr. Chinwe Onumaegbu, the Imo State Labour Party youth leader, who was said to have been arrested by security agents during the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the state.
According to the IIYC president, during the March 18, 2023 governorship elections, when the hoodlums were attacking the Igbo people and destroying their properties, including their markets in Lagos, Eze Nwajiagu called on the government to stop the thugs from attacking their fellow Nigerians and warned that if the unwarranted attacks on the Igbo are not rested, that he wouldn’t have any other option than to bring in some members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to Lagos to protect the Igbo and their properties since the government has failed to carry out its constitutional responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of the citizens.
“That was his only offence. This is the 17th months he has been in detention. It was only last week that he was charged to court.
“Do we have different laws for different citizens in this country? During the said election, the leader of transport union in Lagos, MC Oluomo made an incendiary statement, threatening to annihilate the Igbo in Lagos, and also Bayo Onanuga, the media aide of President Bola Tinubu, but nobody cautioned them; they are now dinning with the president, while this man who spoke against the attacks on his people and their properties is being punished,” Echefu said. The Igbo youth leader also noted that the whereabouts of Onumaegbu remain unknown since that Saturday, November 11, 2023 election in Imo, noting that his family is disturbed over the missing of their breadwinner.