Arewa youths petition UN over Biafra agitation.
Barely one month after the Coalition of Arewa Youths, issued an ultimatum to the Igbo to quit the North, the group has again, asked the United Nations (UN) to declare the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organization for its activities in Nigeria.
The Coalition of Northern Youth Groups, which made the demand yesterday in Abuja, also called on the UN to intervene in the looming crisis of disintegration by initiating processes for a peaceful referendum on the Biafra crisis.
In a letter addressed to the UN and dated July 12, 2017, the groups said since the end of the Nigerian Civil War, the Igbo have intermittently continued to taunt and rebel against other parts of the country, by demanding to secede and form an independent country.
They claimed that the Igbo are reopening old wounds by calling for violence and anarchy. The groups said the popular Kaduna Declaration was not a call to violence, but a precaution.
Coordinator of the coalition, Mr Shettima Yerima, said that in spite of all the efforts by the Acting President and responsible regional leaders, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB, remains undaunted and even intensified their violent divisive campaign which is the main issue of contention.
“Their continued action is a clear signal that they are committed to breaking away from the Nigerian federation which buttresses our earlier concerns.
“Worried by the recent threats, we became concerned that Kanu has finally crossed the boundaries of Nigerian laws and has blatantly breached international laws that specifically frown at the use of terror to achieve a goal.
“We are calling on the UN to invoke the relevant statuses to which Nigeria is a signatory to pronounce Kanu and IPOB as a terror outfits, proscribe their activities and initiate criminal actions against them.
“Since it is becoming all the more obvious by the way IPOB and Kanu enjoy massive support from the Igbo back home that the issue of the drive for Biafra nation is still a boiling one. We urge the UN to intervene by initiating processes for a peaceful referendum as the only option to finally settle the Biafran issue.”
The group had in June, issued an ultimatum to the Igbo vacate their region within three months.
The call, which is popularly called the Kaduna Declaration, generated mixed reactions from Nigerians.
