Igbo socio-cultural group Ohanaeze Ndigbo has waded into the recent crisis in Orlu town, Imo State, saying the Igbo people are not at war with Nigeria.
Reports said members of the Eastern Security Network clashed with soldiers in Orlu town, leaving several dead and others injured. The incident forced Governor Hope Uzodimma to declare a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
The Igbo group in a statement signed by its spokesman Alex Ogbonnia lamented the loss of lives and property in the clash.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo notes with sorrow and agony the recent disturbances in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State that resulted to the loss of lives and properties and caused serious hardship to the people of Orlu and others.
“We must recall the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in his first press conference in Enugu on 20th January 2021, categorically said Ndigbo were not at war with Nigeria and did not have anything pending before any institutional authority that demands separate existence from Nigeria,” the statement read.
The group commended the governor for swiftly moving to restore peace in the area.
It advised the people of Orlu to remain calm and law-abiding.
The group also explained a statement from the late Biafran warlord Chukwuemeka Ojukwu who said that “the bone shall rise.”
According to them, the statement did not mean conflict or violence or war but that the Igbo people would continue to make creative and constructive engagements with the rest of Nigeria.
