Declare Sunday Igboho a terrorist — Northern youths

The Northern Youths Council of Nigeria has called on Northern Governors to evacuate Northerners from the South West over the recent clash in Shasha Market in Ibadan, Oyo State and declare Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, as a terrorist.

The group made the demand in a statement by its President and Public Relations Officer, Isah Abubakar and Mock Kure, on Sunday.

They said: “Northerners should desist from travelling to Southwestern Nigeria as signals from the region is extremely bad, pending when the government will prove that it is now safe to travel to that region. We call on Nigerians with a conscience to condemn such attacks and other planned attacks because together, good shall triumph over evil.

It said the “hidden agenda” to expel Northerners started with the call on all herdsmen by the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, to leave all state-controlled forests’ reserves.

This, it said, led to the sudden emergence of Igboho as the “enforcer-in-chief” of the hidden, but now open agenda in Oyo State.

It said: “The eviction orders violates the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as Amended) which guarantees freedom of movement of all citizens and rights to own movable and unmovable properties in any part of the country.

“We believe strongly that the inability of government at all levels to tame the lawless wings of Sunday Ighoho and his co-travellers has led to the emergence of his variants, hence, the renewed attacks on settled business people.

“We call on the Federal Government to declare Sunday Igboho and his group as a terrorist organisation as he is not different from Boko Haram.

“Northern Governors’ Forum under the leadership of Simon Bako Lalong to rally his colleagues to begin to evacuate our brothers that are trapped in South West and other troubled spots in Southern Nigeria since the governments in those regions have proven to be helpless or tacitly complicit in the ceaseless attacks on our people.

“Northern youths will continue to maintain maximum restraints despite the unjustifiable and unprovoked attacks on our people pending on when the government will exhaust all its cards.”