Igbos demands Junaid Mohammed tried for treason

Firstclass newsline gathered that frontline Igbo socio-political
groups on Wednesday condemned the convener of the Coalition of
Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Junaid
Mohammed, for asking Ndigbo to break away from Nigeria if they feel
marginalised.
One of the groups, Njiko Igbo Forum, said Mohammed's statement
amounted to treasonable felony.
President of the Njiko Igbo Forum, Rev. Okechukwu Obioha, who reacted
to the development in an interview with a source in Enugu, said
Mohammed should be tried for treason.
Also, foremost Igbo socio-political body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in its
reaction to the matter, described Mohammed as a "northern bigot."
Mohammed made the statement while replying a former governor of
Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, who said the Igbo had not been
treated fairly in terms of political positions and appointments in the
President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Reacting to the statement made by the former Anambra governor,
Mohammed had said, "I don't believe Buhari or Nigeria owes any Igbo
anything.
"I don't care what Ezeife says – if they (Igbo) had seceded, there
would have been no Nigeria today.
"As people who acted outside the interest of Nigeria as a country, to
expect compensation is a very odd logic.
"If the Igbo don't like it, they can attempt secession again.
"If they do, they must be prepared to live with the consequences –
nobody owes them anything and nobody is out to compensate them for
anything."
However, reacting to Mohammed's comments in a telephone interview with
a source, Obioha, the leader of the Njiko Igbo Forum, said Mohammed
should be arrested and prosecuted for instigating the Igbo to secede.
He said Buhari should show that he meant business when he said there
would be no sacred cows during his administration by ordering
Mohammed's arrest.
Obioha said, "He (Junaid Mohammed) should be arrested and charged with
treason for suggesting that (secession) at all to the Igbo.
"If President Buhari said there will be no sacred cows during his
administration then anybody who is guilty of any crime should not be
allowed to go scot free.
"What the man (Mohammed) said amounted to treasonable felony.
"I don't want to go into whether the Igbo want to secede or not but
now he is instigating the Igbo to secede, so he should be tried for
treason.
"This statement should not be overlooked – it is like what happened in
the past when, after elections, some people said they would make the
country ungovernable for the then President, although they later
denied making that statement, so many things started happening."
The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey,
told a source that the organisation would not like to join issues with
Mohammed over what he described as an irresponsible statement.
"We don't want to join issues with people like that – that was just an
irresponsible talk," the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leader said.
Firstclassnewsline.net