Quote from: Solidstonez on 3-04-2012 08:09 PM
see this ritualistic person oh , you no get family again coz of ritual go find help
Wednesday 4. Apr 2012
Wed, July 21, 2010 9:46:29 AM
ARE THE IGBO IN NIGERIA BEING DEFINED BY CRIMINALITY?
Outraged Nigerians at Kidnapping Explosion
It would appear that for the first time for a long time in the country's history, Nigerians united in outrage against the increasing spate of kidnappings in the country, especially in the South-East, which is mainly populated by the Igbo, who have been accused of turning kidnapping into an industry of getting wealthy quickly. But this time, Nigerians were not willing to tolerate another kidnapping, and even the Igbo themselves, who have become docile and prisoners in their own land to kidnappings, with many of the well to do abandoning their homes and escaping to other areas of the country, joined in the outcries.
Addressing the shameful attitude of the Igbo in tolerating and honoring criminals, Nigeria's Inspector General of Police, who himself is Igbo, lambasted the Igbo for making crime a way of life, when he voiced his frustration, with the following, ""I came from Abuja because of what is happening in our land. It is embarrassing. I don't know when Ndigbo joined in leading bad life. Our youths are now committing all manner of evils just to make money. Ndigbo are killing Ndigbo in Igboland. They kidnap anybody at sight— old, young, even royal fathers. It is a big problem. Are Ndigbo the only people who are facing hardship? Why are our youths in the forefront of these evils?
"When drug was in vogue, it was Igbos. In 419, it was our people. Robbery, our people also lead. Must we be first only in evil things? Our royal fathers, please you have to find solution to this, even if it means calling on our forefathers to intervene like what happened in Benin where the Oba said enough was enough. Ndigbo are noted for their hard work, not crime. But the quest and love for money have changed this virtue for bad. We recognize their wealth without minding how it came. We need you to give us information about these people.
"Crime is every where in the country but no other people have kidnapping as pronounced as in the South East. I don't have problem in other areas but in Igboland. We have been embarrassed and insulted by other tribes because of kidnapping. They see me as a doctor that cannot cure himself. They call us kidnappers. We will no longer keep quiet."
The outrage Nigerians felt, and the outburst of candidness by Mr. Onovo, concerned the kidnapping of four Nigerian journalists on the 11th of July while returning to Lagos after attending a three-day National Union of Journalists (NUJ) national executive council meeting in Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom, which is not an Igbo state. They were seized by gunmen in Aba, Abia State, and which used to be the commercial capital of Nigeria, but which has now been turned into the kidnapping capital of Nigeria. The hoodlums demanded the princely sum of N250 million (two hundred and fifty million Naira, equivalent to $1.7 million). They later dropped their demand to N30 million, about $230,000.
The abducted journalists included Mr Wahab Oba, chairman, Lagos chapter of NUJ, Mr Adolphos Okonkwo, Secretary of zone G of NUJ, Mr Sylvester Okereke, Acting Secretary of NUJ, Lagos chapter, Shola Oyeyipo, a Lagos based Journalist and a driver, whose name was never given.
This is the second time this year that a group of journalists were kidnapped in Nigeria. It would be recalled that on March 1, 2010, a South African journalist working for M-Net SuperSport, Nick Greyling, and his two Nigerian colleagues were kidnapped near the airport in Owerri, capital of Imo State, another Igbo State. A Nigerian cameraman was reportedly shot and wounded. According to what the General Manager of M-Net, Felix Awogu, had said then, "The bus conveying the three, a production person, a cameraman and a sports commentator, was intercepted on Monday afternoon by the gunmen." "The attackers ordered out more than 20 people inside the bus and took away the three and the bus," Awogu said.
The group was released on March 8; while an Agence France Presse quoted a source as saying that N15 million ($100,000) ransom was paid, on the other hand the Nigerian government denied any payment of a ransom.
But in the kidnapping this time, Nigerians were not having any part of it. Their outrage was palpable, expressed by Nigeria's Senate President Senator David Mark, who called for the declaration of a state of emergency in Abia state. He was quoted as saying, "The way I see it, if we can declare a state of emergency on power, we should declare a state of emergency on kidnapping. We should declare a state of emergency in all these areas where we have armed robbery and kidnapping and because I think we have a misconception on the issue of state of emergency, it does not mean you will remove the governor, and then take over, no. It is part of our Constitution. If we can declare a state of emergency on power, we should do it for kidnapping and then armed robbery."
Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian government, the Minister of Information and Communications Dora Akunyili, said ""The abduction of these four prominent and innocent journalists while on active duty is a challenge to security agencies to reinforce ongoing security operations in Abia State. Mr. President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan recently directed the police and all security agencies to rid the nation especially the South Eastern part of the Country of Kidnapping.
"Government finds this ugly development quite disturbing, sad and clearly unacceptable."
Even the Inspector General of Police, Onovo, admitted that some of his men were involved in the crime of kidnapping and other criminal activities. ""On our part, we have problem because some of our men have hands in the crimes. We have to put our house in order too. We are already taking care of them. A lot of our men are in Abia not to work any more but to trade (make money)."
And while Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji's action in hiring Isreali security experts to join the Police in their attempts to rescue the abducted journalists could be noted, the specter of Igbo leaders trotting to Abuja, Nigeria's capital, to again beg for Federal government assistance in dealing with the problem, was the most disquieting aspect of what is transpiring in Igboland. The honesty with which Mr. Ogbonna Onovo spoke is what is needed in Igboland. The five Igbo states in the country, albeit clamoring for another, are unable and unwilling to control crimes in their midst, but rather immediately accord recognition to any criminals who exhibit wealth no matter how they came into such wealth, as illegally acquired as they might be. Trotting to Abuja is not the answer. The Igbo leaders need to sit down and find answers to their own problem, a cancer that is affecting other parts of Nigeria, as well as Nigeria and Nigerians internationally, to the extent that Diaspora Igbo are afraid of returning home.
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