The Kaduna State Government, on Tuesday, condemned in strong terms, Monday’s irresponsible comments credited to “some self-appointed northern youths” giving citizens of Igbo extraction a deadline of October 1, 2017 to leave all part of northern Nigeria, as their safety could no longer be guaranty their safety.
A statement by Samuel Aruwan, Senior Special Assistant Media and Publicity to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, directed the state’s Ministry of Justice to prepare charges and prosecute signatories and anyone complicit in hatching the plot.
“Preparatory to prosecution, the police have been directed to immediately arrest, interrogate the signatories to the statement and investigate all the circumstances and persons that may be implicated in the matter.”
While noting that two wrongs cannot make a right, the statement assured that Kaduna State “will not tolerate such irresponsible statements and conduct,” that violate the laws of the land, adding that the state government “believes in and will uphold the right of every Nigerian to live safely and develop his/her full potentials within its territory.
“Reckless disregard for the rights of other citizens drips through the press statement by these “northern youths” who have chosen to use the discourse around restructuring to promote their own agenda of hate, division and incitement. This sort of opportunitsts cannot be allowed to distort debate, or turn it into a pretext for a barely-disguised agenda of displacement and dispossession of some citizens.”
The statement urged “all residents to ignore the threats from the “northern youths,” adding that the state government is in contact with the leadership of the Igbo community in the state in an apparent bid to assure them of constitutional protection of all citizens.