Ohanaeze Issues Statement On ‘Callous’ Killing Of Three Igbo Traders In Lagos

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Friday, described the killing of three Igbo traders by alleged military personnel on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at the Aguiyi Ironsi International Trade Centre, Ladipo Market, Lagos State, as callous and cowardly.

Reacting through a statement by its national publicity secretary, Alex Ogbonnia, the pan-Igbo organization said the incident that led to their death was unacceptable.

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemns the incident as most cruel, brutish, barbaric, cowardly and premeditated,” the group said.

The statement warned against trifling with the lives of Igbo people by any group, adding that Igbos have been victims of similar reckless killings.

The statement said: “The Igbo have paid the supreme prize with fortitude and equanimity, in various circumstances even beyond the degrees of their daily activities.

“Most of the time, the culprits or perpetrators are not identified; but in this case, the timid military officer that mobilized his boys for a massacre is known.”

The group therefore called on Igbo stakeholders to leave “no stone unturned in pursuing this matter to its logical conclusion; bearing in mind that the killing of three Igbo traders is a dot in an Igbo circle.”

A source had told newsmen that, “What happened was that a military man came with his orderly in the morning to change a spare part that he bought from a trader in the market since last week.

“He came to change it because it did not work, but the military man did not wear his uniform when he came into the market.

“When he was leaving, the union boys at the entrance of the gate told him to pay N200 for gate pass. But because he refused to pay, it turned into a fight and the boys beat the military man and his orderly.

“So, he went back to his base, returned with three other boys and everywhere scattered as they started shooting. [That was how the trio died].”