By Nwabueze Okonkwo
ONITSHA — Human rights lawyer, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, KSC, has mentioned that the 2017 proscription of the Indigenous Folks of Biafra (IPOB), a motion he described as peaceable on the time, marked the start of an endless cycle of distrust, violence, and alienation in Nigeria.
In a press assertion issued on Sunday, Ejiofor, who additionally serves as lead counsel to IPOB, noticed that as an alternative of addressing underlying grievances, the state of affairs was met with suppression that heightened tensions the place dialogue was wanted.
He argued that the clampdown created a vacuum that later gave rise to parts whose actions departed from the unique beliefs of the motion.
“These actors neither share the beliefs nor the ethical compass of the sooner motion. They emerged from the absence of structured engagement,” Ejiofor said.
“The reality stays that no nation ever silenced a cry for justice via the barrel of a gun. Sustainable peace is achieved solely via trustworthy dialogue, empathy, and a deliberate effort to separate professional grievances from acts of opportunism.”
Citing Bishop Hassan Kukah’s current remarks on the launch of Normal Fortunate Irabor’s guide in Abuja, Ejiofor famous that names and labels usually form notion and dictate responses, warning that mishandling them may worsen divisions.
“Nigeria’s future peace lies not within the proliferation of labels however in our collective skill to hear past them, to grasp the pains and aspirations behind these names, and to construct a nation that heals fairly than hurts,” he mentioned.
He urged the Federal Authorities to contemplate dialogue and re-engagement, stressing:
“The federal government should summon the braveness to sift the wheat from the chaff, to tell apart real aspirations from criminality, and to revive belief the place disillusionment now reigns. A nation that refuses to speak to its kids will sooner or later be compelled to barter with their ghosts.”
Ejiofor recalled that between 2015 and 2017, hundreds of younger women and men from the South-East staged peaceable marches to focus on perceived marginalisation. He mentioned the state’s response throughout that interval left deep scars on the area’s collective psyche.
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