Ngige : MASSOB Warns Against Humiliation Of Igbo Leaders

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), weekend, warned the APC-led federal government against ridiculing Igbo leaders, especially those perceived not to support the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

MASSOB stated this in a statement signed by its leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu. The pro-Biafra group was reacting to what it described as “quick arraignment and detention” of former Governor of Anambra State, Sen Chris Ngige, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

It linked Ngige’s arrest to what it called “a growing anxiety within the Tinubu administration over a possible 2027 presidential ambition of Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections.

MASSOB alleged that Ngige’s arrest by EFCC was shortly after Obi paid “a brotherly sympathy visit to Ngige after an attack by criminal elements”.

According to the release, “Just days after Mr Peter Obi visited Dr Ngige, the Tinubu administration, using its toothless bulldog, began harassing Dr Ngige out of fear of Mr Peter Obi. This unwarranted harassment is happening simply because Dr Ngige is an Igbo man, even though he does not support Biafra separation.”

Madu warned that MASSOB would not tolerate what he described as the humiliation of Igbo leaders by state institutions.

Quoting him, “Though Dr Chris Ngige, Mr Peter Obi and other Igbo political leaders still believe in the oneness of Nigeria, MASSOB will never allow them to be ridiculed by agents of Nigeria. We are all Igbos before Nigeria or Biafra.”

MASSOB accused EFCC of deviating from its fundamental roles, adding that such actions were damaging Nigeria’s image before the international community.

“The EFCC ought to be a major organ of government to redeem the badly damaged image of Nigeria. However, its selective actions and insensitivity in discharging its responsibilities are deepening the corrupt image of the Nigerian state before the international community,” MASSOB stated.

It accused EFCC of deliberately “turning a blind eye against gross liquidation and embezzlement of the nation’s economy and treasury” by some nation’s leaders.

Madu added, “The sudden arrest and quick arraignment of Dr Ngige, and his subsequent detention by the EFCC, exposed the nakedness and market dancing of this errand financial commission.

“In its attempt to do its master’s bidding, the EFCC listed companies it claimed were Dr Ngige’s proxies but failed to tell Nigerians whether those companies actually executed the contracts awarded to them.”