The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, declared on Tuesday that no matter how long it takes, the state would arrest the members of the northern coalition groups that gave the Igbo in the 19 northern states a three-month ultimatum to leave the region.
The youths had, some days ago, given the Igbo in the northern states an ultimatum to quit the North or be forced out after an October 1st deadline.
The youths, in an open letter to the acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, urged the acting President to facilitate an easy exit for the Igbo to leave the North to their dream country, Biafra.
But on Tuesday, El-Rufai, who spoke at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, when he played host to the Igbo Delegate Assembly and northern Igbo chiefs, noted that ‘nobody can come to Kaduna and say this nonsense (quit notice)’.
Punch reports that the governor insisted that no matter how long it would take, the Arewa youths who signed the quit notice would be arrested and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
According to him, the Arewa youths behind the ultimatum would not only be arrested but would be prosecuted, adding that ‘it is hate speeches that kill’.
He added that the youth might have gone underground, but would be fished out and made to face the full wrath of law.
The governor said that disintegration was not the solution to the socio-economic crises afflicting the land, noting that ‘we all need Nigeria and it is from Nigeria that we will be greater’.
El-Rufai said, “The Kaduna State Government is grateful to the Igbo for coming; Kaduna has suffered so many crises, so, we are very sensitive to comments that incite and cause disaffection among the people.
“Kaduna used to be a home for all, but so many crises have divided the state and the metropolis across religious lines.
“As a government, we abolish ‘indigeneship’, once you live in Kaduna you are an indigene.
“We have arrested so many people over hate speeches and we are trying them. We are going to arrest the Arewa youths and bring them to justice, no matter how long it takes since the press conference was done in Kaduna.
“If they had done it in any other place, we would have just condemned them, but since it is in Kaduna, we are going to arrest them no matter how long it takes.
Speaking earlier, the President General, Igbo Delegate Assembly, Chief Chikezie Nwogu, insisted that the Ndigbo would not leave the North, saying ‘we are with our brothers’ (northerners).
He added that the Igbo were ready to remain in the North and he specifically commended the Federal Government and El-Rufai for the reaction to the northern youths’ ultimatum.
Nwogu said, “We are here in Kaduna to hold a meeting based on what has been happening in the North, especially with the Arewa youths and the ultimatum given to the Igbo and the agitations by IPOB.
“We are not here to condemn anybody. We thank the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and other northern governors, traditional rulers and the Federal Government for their interventions about the issue.”
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