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updated 10:20 AM UTC, Dec 13, 2023

IPOB Attacks Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremmadu In Germany

Unic Press UK: A former Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Ike Ekweremmadu was attacked Saturday by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

In a statement Saturday, Senator Ekweremadu said he was attacked by members of IPOB as he attended the Second Annual Cultural Festival and Convention organised by Ndi-Igbo Germany in Nuremberg. Nuremberg is the second-largest city of the German federal state of Bavaria after its capital Munich.

“I was given a resounding welcome by Ndigbo in Germany and everything went smoothly until some men, who identified themselves as IPOB members stormed the venue and began to complain about the killings in the South East, stressing that there would be no Igbo event at the venue. I tried to engage them, but when they became unruly, I had to leave the venue… Much as I am disappointed in their conduct, especially as I am one of the persons, who have spoken up on justice for Ndigbo, the Python Dance, extra-judicial killings in Igbo land and elsewhere both on the floor of the Senate and in my written and personal engagements with the Presidency as well as rallied the South East Senate Caucus to secure Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe taking him on bail to douse tension in the South East, I nevertheless do not hold this to heart against them, for they know not what they do.

A series of video recordings of the incident seen by the Unic Press shows a mob attacking the Nigerian senator, shoving/pushing him, dragging him out of the venue of the planned festival.

In his initial reaction to the incident, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu appears to sound a warning to the southern Nigeria political leaders, describing what had befallen Ekweremmadu as a polite warning to the others, who are mortgaging the collective interest of the people.

In a statement, the Nigeria Senate President, Ahmed Lawan condemned the attack on Ekweremadu, describing the action of IPOB members as “barbaric, reprehensible”.

A statement by the Senate President’s Special Adviser on Media, Ola AwoniyiLawan, reads:

“It is incredibly absurd for anybody to blame the distinguished Senator for the violent criminal activities in his home base, the purported reason cited by the mob for the bewildering attack. The barbaric attack on Senator Ekweremadu at a forum to which he was invited to contribute to charting a course for the progress and happiness of Ndigbo debase our values as civilised people. It is is most reprehensible and should be condemned by all right-thinking Nigerians.”

Writing of the incident, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode said:

“What happened to my friend and brother Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany at the hands of IPOB is an eye-opener and a clear signal to every political leader in southern Nigeria! The people of the south are getting angry… If anyone believes that it is only IPOB or the people of the South-East that feel so bitter then they really do not know what is going on. The sons and daughters of the Niger Delta, the South-South and the South-West are equally aggrieved. The anger is palpable and it is spreading throughout the south. I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to shed his cloak of partiality, to put Nigeria before his Fulani tribe, to stop the genocide, mass murder and ethnic cleansing, to remove the Fulani herdsmen from the south and the Middle Belt, to proscribe Miyetti Allah and the Fulani mlitants, to declare them as terrorists and enemies of the Nigerian state and to protect the lives of EVERY Nigerian from this great evil that has tormented our people and torn us apart.”

A former Senate President, Bukola Saraki also condemned the attack on Ekweremmadu. He said:

“The Nuremberg incident was highly unfortunate and Nigerians at home and in the diaspora need to avoid this kind of unnecessary distraction. This is a time we all have to work together to foster unity and peace in our country. I am happy Ike remains unshaking and solid in his belief about a united, strong and prosperous Nigeria.”

Kennedy Emetulu said:

“For those IPOB speak for and who support IPOB and what has happened now, let’s just say you have finally lost your innocence… The problem of IPOB is that like their leader, they are always acting on impulse. No one sits down to strategise and work out case scenarios and possible responses before going out to do anything. In Europe and anywhere in the West, people are allowed to show their anger in politics, but you just must not physically hurt people. Sure, you can disgrace people or make life uncomfortable for them by throwing raw eggs or tomatoes on them, pouring milk on them or plastering them with all sorts of grimy foodstuff and so on, but you don’t go grab them and tear their clothes.”

 

 

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