Oyo Crisis: Declare Sunday Igboho a terrorist now, Northern youths tell FG

From Sola Ojo, Kaduna

Youth group, Northern Youths Council of Nigeria on Sunday called on Northern governors to evacuate northerners from the southwest over the alleged attacks melted on them by suspected hoodlums at Sasha market, Akinyele local government area of Oyo State recently.

The group in a statement by Isah Abubakar and Mock Kure, President and Spokesman respectively also called on the federal government to declare Sunday Igboho a terrorist.

The statement read in part, “our attention has been drawn to the ongoing Carnage against Northerners, particularly in Shasa Market of Akinyele Local Government, Oyo State, South-West Nigeria where lives were either lost or injured, business premises and vehicles were burnt by hoodlums.

“We wish to condemn such attack in strongest terms possible and call on security agents to arrest the perpetrators to serve as a deterrent to would-be hoodlums.

The hidden agenda to expel Northerners in that segment of the Country started with the call on all Herdsmen (Not criminal elements) by the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, to leave all State-controlled forests reserves, this led to the sudden emergence of one Sunday Ighoho, as the ‘enforcer-in-chief of the hidden but now open agenda in faraway Oyo State.

“The eviction orders violates the provisions of The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as Amended) which guarantees freedom of movement of all citizens and rights to own movable and unmovable properties in any part of the Country.

“We believe strongly that the inability of government at all levels to tame the lawless wings of Sunday Ighoho and his co-travellers has led to the emergence of his variants, hence, the renewed attacks on settled business people.

“We call on the federal government to declare Sunday Ighoho and his group as a terrorist organisation as he is not different from Boko Haram.

“Northern Governors’ Forum under the leadership of Simon Bako Lalong to rally his colleagues to begin to evacuate our brothers that are trapped in Southwest and other troubled spots in Southern Nigeria since the governments in those regions have proven to be helpless or tacitly complicit in the ceaseless attacks on our people.

“Northern Youths will continue to maintain maximum restraints despite the unjustifiable and unprovoked attacks on our people pending on when the government will exhaust all its cards.

“We call on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to mobilise resources to the trouble spots to ameliorate the sufferings of those who lost their means of livelihood to the carnage while the Federal Government should adequately compensate those who lost loved ones and property to these crises.

“Northerners should desist from travelling to Southwestern Nigeria as signals from the region is extremely bad, pending when the government will prove that it is now safe to travel to that region.

“We call on Nigerians with a conscience to condemn such attacks and other planned attacks because together, good shall triumph over evil”.