Former
Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has issued a 7-day ultimatum to
the Lagos State Government to apologise to the 67 persons of Igbo
extraction it allegedly deported from Lagos to Onitsha in Anambra State
or face legal action.
While describing the purported deportation as the worst ‘insult to
any race’, Kalu frowned at the revelation that the deportees were
detained in Ikorodu for about six months before what he termed their
‘illegal deportation.’
In a statement issued to journalists on Monday, the former governor
Kalu noted there was right to freedom of movement for every Nigerian as
enshrined in Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
Besides, he argued, it was no secret that the Igbo contribute about 55 per cent to the Lagos economy.
“It is appalling to learn that the deported Igbo were even detained
in Ikorodu for about six months before their illegal deportation.
“They were taken to Onitsha in four buses, escorted by anti-riot policemen,” Kalu stressed.
“One of them, Osondu Mbuto, a trader from Ohaozara in Ebonyi State,
was on his way to his shop on December 18, 2012 when he was arrested by
officials of the state’s Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and detained for
no reason until he was deported in his father’s land.
“The reaction of the state government that the Igbo were deported to
reunite them with their families was the worst insult to any race.
Continue...