By Abubakar Yunusa
The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), the prominent Igbo youth organization, has called on the federal government to launch a thorough investigation into the tenure of former President Mohammadu Buhari, with a focus on the violence, arson, and unrest that plagued the Southeast region, particularly following the notorious Owerri Prison break in 2021.
In a joint statement signed by Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, OYC’s National President General, and Comrade Ifeanyichukwu Cedric Nweke, Secretary General, the organization urged the current administration to employ forensic analysis, pictorial evidence, video footage, and various investigative methodologies to examine the wave of violence that disrupted the once peaceful Southeast.
The statement comes in the wake of heightened tensions and attacks in the Southeast, with many urging for calm and a more strategic approach to tackling the insecurity that has gripped the region.
“We advocate for an exhaustive probe, leveraging forensic expertise and demonstrative evidence to scrutinize the catastrophic incidents in the Southeast during President Buhari’s administration,” the statement read.
The council specifically highlighted the Owerri Prison break as a pivotal event that unleashed further insecurity in the region.
OYC noted that the escalating violence, particularly from groups labeled as “Unknown Gunmen,” has often been attributed to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but they urged a reassessment of this narrative.
The council insisted that IPOB remains a peaceful organization advocating for the independence of the Igbo people and other ethnic groups in the old Eastern Nigeria.
“There is a strong possibility that the remnants of the 2021 Owerri Prison break are being used by political actors masquerading as IPOB affiliates to perpetrate violence,” the statement suggested,
The statement also distanced IPOB from recent acts of destruction, including the burning of the National Open University Nsu Center and Senator Frank Ibezim’s residence.
OYC expressed concern over attempts to implicate IPOB in the region’s unrest, urging stakeholders to acknowledge the broader political context.
“The accusations against IPOB regarding these incidents need to be reconsidered in light of the real security challenges in the Southeast,” OYC added.
In addition, the council refuted claims that the National Open University Nsu Center was intended to be used as an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp for Fulani and Boko Haram insurgents.
OYC clarified that the center would serve displaced Igbo youths affected by the insecurity in the Southeast.
The council further recommended that Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma consider repurposing the center as a skill acquisition hub for Southeastern youths, citing its strategic location and advanced facilities.
They urged the governor to resist politically motivated violence and establish a community-led supervisory committee to oversee the center’s operation, ensuring its exclusive benefit to the region’s displaced youths.
