Northern governors behind herdsmen attacks - Ohanaeze Says kidnapping didn't originate from South-East

The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ohanaeze Youth Council ( OYC), has accused Northern  Governors of sponsoring the rampaging Fulani herdsmen wrecking  havoc in many agrarian Middle Belt and Southern communities.

OYC  was reacting to a recent statement credited to Northern Governors Forum where the Governors said that it was an insult to label Fulani herdsmen as criminals.

The Northern Governors who met in Kaduna on Friday, also said that "kidnapping originated from South East does not make us call it Igbo kidnappers".

But OYC in a strongly- worded statement issued on Sunday lambasted the Northern Governors for exonerating the murderous herdsmen whose violent activities are generating local and international condemnations.

The statement jointly signed  by the  National Vice President of OYC, Mazi Obinna Achonye; the Coordinator of Ohanaeze Youths in Niger Delta, Comrade Opurum Cheya; and the Rivers State Chairman of OYC, Bobby Ezemuonye, said the " careless statement from the Northern Governors is an affront to Ndigbo".

OYC expressed shock that "instead of joining millions of sane minds across the globe in condemning the atrocities of the herdsmen especially last week's invasion of Enugu community , the governors were busy absolving the criminals of any wrong doing".  

The Igbo youths asked the Northern Governors to bury their faces in shame for defending criminals, adding that "they know more about the herdsmen than they have told Nigerians".

The statement read in part: " The careless statement by the Northern Governors amounts to adding insult to injury on the genocide carried out by the Fulani herdsmen in Nimbo community in Uzo- Uwani LGA of Enugu State.

" The statement portends  serious danger to our national security, and we stand to be corrected in our conviction  that the Northern Governors by their utterance, are the real sponsors of these herdsmen.

" Instead of condoling with the families of the victims of the unprovoked attacks, the governors were trying to legalise illegality. We have no reason to doubt that the herdsmen are their foot solders acting their evil script", OYC said.

OYC also tackled the Northern Governors for alleging that kidnaping originated from South East, arguing that such " wild, misleading and untenable claims", give  the governors out as " not being conversant with history".

The youths therefore, gave South East Governors, 48 hours to fully reply their Northern counterparts " or we will assume that they are cowards".

" If after 48 hours South East Governors fail to reply the Northern Governors Forum we will know that they are cowards , and then we will take our destiny in our hands".

The Igbo youths restated that the Monday ( today's) ultimatum earlier issued to "all violent herdsmen" to vacate South East  still subsists.