JULY 9TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Itsekiri, under the aegis of Itsekiri Development Congress, IDC, have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to call their Ijaw neighbours to order to avoid breakdown of law and order.
In an open letter to President Jonathan entitled “Please Stop this Genocidal Tendency of the Ijaw” , they said the recent attack on Itsekiri was “a stage in the overall plan of our neighbour to exterminate Itsekiri, occupy and covert our homeland.”
The letter, signed by Mr. Emma Okotie-Eboh and Mr. Solomon Iwetan, IDC Chairman and Secretary, respectively, said: “In the early hours July 1, 2013, when the Itsekiri villagers were still asleep or getting ready for their daily sustenance, death and mayhem came in the form of our Ijaw neighbours.”
IDC said it was necessary to apprehend and bring to justice perpetrators of the attack so that Itsekiri would not be forced to defend themselves, which could worsen the security situation in the country.
It said more than 10 Itsekiri villages were razed, many people killed, maimed or rendered homeless.
IDC said the chairmanship seat of Warri North Local Government Area, which is being touted as excuse for the invasion, was not the Itsekiri’s to give.
It said: “In a democracy, it is never the Itsekiri or the Ijaw that should win the chairmanship. It is and will always be the candidate with the highest vote.”
Source: Vanguard