A prominent Makurdi-based lawyer, Barr. Rowland Ndefo, has condemned in strong terms what he called the molestation and assault metted to Igbo communities in Wannune, headquarters of Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State on Thursday.
Barr. Ndefo, who spoke to The Point at the weekend in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, lamented what he described as the destruction of properties belonging to Igbos in the council area noting that their provision stores and sundry other goods worth millions of naira were vandalised.
The lawyer, who said he had spent over 40 years in the state, explained that he had never witnessed a situation where such cruelty was displayed following an election in the state.
Barr. Ndefo said a situation where a political party blames the Igbos for the loss of a particular candidate in an election was spurious and unacceptable.
He said, “I am amazed by this declaration whereby someone loses election in six local government areas and holding another tribe responsible just because those people have come to live in your land. You are apportioning blame to them because of your failure to scale through at the Senatorial elections”.
He appealed to relevant stakeholders to see to the injustices visited on the Igbo people for purportedly voting an opposition party and sued for urgent need to redress the injustices being perpetrated against the people.
He emphasised the need for all tribes in the country to be their brothers’ keepers, saying, “We can come together as indivisible force and one entity. We must shun those tendencies that would amount to hatred and discord among us in the interest of unity and peace”.
