IYC To Arewa Youths, We’ll Retaliate Any Attack On Southerners Commensurately

The Ijaw youth council (IYC), has issued a stern warning to Arewa Youths that it won’t hesitate to retaliate in commensurate measure if southerners get hurt in the event that violence erupts from its October 1 quit notice to Igbo.

The IYC, in a statement on Wednesday by its factional chairman, Eric Omare, called on the Federal Government to order the immediate arrest of those behind the quit notice.

Omare also called on southerners in the north to be at their guards in order not to be taken unawares by the northern youths.

The statement reads: “The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide calls on the federal government and security agencies to act fast to bring to justice and nip in the bud those propagating hate songs in the north against Igbos before it leads to the unnecessary killing of southerners living in the north.

“The news of a song calling for the killing of Igbo in the north has been reported by several newspapers; however it is sad to note that the government and security agencies have failed to act.

“The deliberate refusal of the government and security agencies to take action against several conducts by northern elements which threaten national security is emboldening these persons to continue in their conducts.

“It is very unfortunate that security agencies that would invite reputable Nigerians of southern extraction even for comments they know nothing about would turn a deaf ear to issues that threaten the survival of the country by northern elements.

“The hate song circulating in the north is more worrisome considering the insistence by northern youths that Igbo should quit the north by October 1, 2017. The coalition of northern youths October 1, 2017, quit notice coupled with the hate song and the deliberate refusal of the Hausa/Fulani led federal government to act clearly indicate that some elements in the north have made up their minds to massacre southerners living in the north. This is highly condemnable and unacceptable.

“The IYC call on southerners living in the north to be vigilant in the days ahead and warn that any attack on southerners in the north will be visited with a commensurate response from southerners. The federal government must know that considering the fragile state of the nation; Nigeria may not be able to survive any inter-regional or inter-ethnic killings.”