A FRESH dimension may have been added to the parlous security situation in the country, as non-indigenes especially from the Northern parts of the country have begun fleeing the South-East in droves.

At Lokpanta on the Enugu-Port-Harcourt highway, Ugwuoba and Artisan village, all in Enugu State occupied by Hausa communities, several lorries were noticed over the weekend being boarded by fleeing northerners with their luggage.

The development came as the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said yesterday that the recent call ascribed to Boko Haram elements on Christians and southerners to vacate the North had brought the security crisis of the country to a dangerous climax.

The massive movement of northerners from the South-East further heightened fears among the state residents as the issue has become a subject of discussion in various circles.

Although none of the fleeing northerners was ready to speak, the development, however, might not be unconnected with the 14 day ultimatum issued by an Igbo group, the Ogbunigwe Ndigbo, which had last week in a statement urged the non-indigenes to vacate South-East or risk being attacked.

The Guardian also gathered that the relocation of the northerners to their home states was as a result of the directive from Muslims for their members in the South-East to return to the North.

Responding to the threat by the Ogbinigwe Ndigbo, the General Officer Commanding the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, Maj.- Gen. Sunday Idoko, had restated the readiness of the Army to combat any uprising or reprisal from any group in the South-East.

He had asked residents to go about their normal duties, stressing that such threatening text messages if allowed to continue, could lead to serious breakdown of law and order. He pointed out that security challenges facing them could call for information gathering and sharing among security agencies.

Meanwhile, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in a statement signed by the President General, Ralph Uwaechue, recalled various bombings and killings targeted at Christians and Igbos, explaining that enough was enough.

Ohanaeze said: “When in 2011 the United Nations Building in Abuja was bombed with massive loss of lives, Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemned the dastardly act as they did and many others preceding it and asked the Federation Government to take effective steps to stem the tide.

However, in spite of the government’s efforts, the only change has been for worse.

“It is now clear that unpatriotic political and religious elements are bent on making our country ungovernable.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo is convinced that enough is enough and while reiterating its urgent demand on the Federal Government to arrest this dangerous development capable of destroying this nation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls on the Moslem leaders of our country to take immediate steps to rein in their hawks to prevent irreparable damage to the delicate ethno-religious harmony that all well-meaning Nigerians are strenuously striving to maintain.”

Posted by admin on Jan 8 2012. Filed under Boko Haram, Enugu, South-East, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry