In the midst of the ongoing statewide protests, the South East Caucus of the National Assembly raised grave concerns on Friday regarding the ethnic profiling of Igbo people.
The leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives Caucuses, Eyinaya Abaribe and Igariwey Enwo, jointly issued a statement stating that the Igbo people have been unfairly singled out even though they have followed their leaders’ advice to stay out of the protests.
The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria demonstration, which aims to draw attention to hardships that are made worse, got underway across the nation on Thursday.
Curfews were imposed by the government as the demonstration grew violent in several northern states, including Kano, Jigawa, and Niger. In these states, there have been many property damage incidents and at least five fatalities. The South East caucus reported that the Igbos chose not to participate in the protests on the advise of legislators, governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, and leaders in the commercial sector.
The five states in the South East have seen a relative calm as a result of this decision. Nonetheless, the caucus voiced dissatisfaction with the ongoing scapegoating of Igbos, as shown by online declarations like the hashtag “Igbo Must Go” and provocative remarks made by certain social media accounts like “Lagospedia” on X (previously Twitter). Caucus members denounced these acts as risky and unnecessary ethnic profiling.
“The South East Caucus of the National Assembly has been alerted to the regrettable and hazardous ethnic profiling of Igbos in the ongoing nationwide mass protests,” the statement stated.
According to the records, the Igbo people made the deliberate and calculated decision not to take part in the current statewide rallies, following the counsel of their leaders, who included governors, lawmakers, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, and other members of the business community. The five states of the South East are rather tranquil, which is indicative of this.
The fact that Igbos are still being used as scapegoats and as the focus of demonstrations, as seen by a number of remarks (including the Igbo Must Go hashtag and a call made by a specific “Lagospedia” X (Twitter) handle) and internet videos, “surprises and disappoints us.”
The South East caucus stated that the harmful practice of ethnic profiling is unjustified and needs to end, emphasising that millions of fatalities in Nigeria occurred as a result of this practice during the 1950s and the tragic civil war that broke out in 1967–1970.
It also sparked xenophobia in South Africa and the genocide in Rwanda, among other places in Africa. We in Nigeria shouldn’t have to suffer this again.
Therefore, we demand that the security agencies prosecute the authors of these hate speeches in accordance with the nation’s criminal laws and the Cybercrimes Act.
The statement continued, “We continue to call on Igbos nationwide to abstain from protests and maintain their law-abiding lifestyles.”