A pan-Southeast women’s organisation, Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) has urged the Federal Government to take a critical look at the activities of the herdsmen that has endangered the economy, lives and means of livelihood of the people of South East.
The women made the call on the federal government yesterday while interacting with newsmen, regretting, “When unknown gunmen attack, our youths are arrested, tagging them as the unknown gunmen”, and pleaded “find out who are actually perpetuating all these crimes in the south east so that it will not look as if they were drafted to kill and get away with it”.
The women, led by their National President, Lolo Nneka Chimezie said, “We have land but we cannot farm, but now depends on whatever we can import from other parts of the country to feed”.
While condemning the killing of soldiers in the zone, the women also urged the federal government to demilitarize the zone, stating. “We condemn in totality the killing of soldiers, and we also deny that it is our children that are doing that.
“Please, withdraw the military so that they will not be killed again as after killing them, the gunmen will turn to killing us and it will appear as if nothing happened” and called for the arrest of the killers of the soldiers.
They also called on the governors of the south east to enact the anti-open gracing law to enable the Fulani headsmen buy land and rear their cow in one place, “instead of rearing their cows in our farms”, stating further, “They will intimidate me and also kill me”, while attributing the rising cost of food stuff in the South East to the activities of the herdsmen and their cattle.
They also pleaded with the federal government to release The Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, stating, “Instead of the continued detention of Kanu, we are joining others to call on the Federal Government to release him since a competent court of justice had ordered his release”.
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