•Ejiofor
A human rights lawyer and lead counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has called on the Ndigbo to rise against killings and erosion of values in the South-East region.
In a statement he released on Monday, in Awka, Anambra State, Ejiofor appealed to Ndigbo to rise and cleanse their lands, adding that the value of life in the South-East has “sunk to chilling lows” due to the killings across the region.
The human rights lawyer was reacting to the Friday killings by yet-to-be-identified gunmen who invaded three communities of Umualoma, Ndiakunwanta and Ndiejezie in Arondizogu, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, killing at least seven persons, reports The PUNCH.
It was gathered that the gunmen on a motorbike shot the locals in Umualoma, Ndiakunwanta and Ndiejezie villages, leaving several people dead and several others critically injured.
Ejiofor, called on the authorities at the local, state, and federal levels, to rise beyond the confines of partisanship, fear, and self-interest and act swiftly to institute a security framework that protects, respects rights and restores peace.
He said, “This morning, I write with a heart heavy, shattered by grief, burning with rage, and aching with disbelief. As a son of Alaigbo and a custodian of our collective conscience, I can no longer watch in silence as our homeland descends into the abyss of horror and moral collapse.
“On Friday morning, in communities too familiar to us all; Obinetiti, Ndiejezie, Umualaoma, and Ndiakwuwata, all in Arondizuogu, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, something utterly horrifying occurred.
“What unfolded in these peaceful communities was not just another act of violence. It was a brutal reminder of our crumbling humanity, a dark chapter that has carved an eternal scar into the soul of our people.
“A video emerged. I struggle to find the words to describe it. It was not just another footage of violence; it was a chilling documentary of state failure, the erosion of our values, and the slow, painful death of our shared humanity. That footage, too gruesome to share but forever etched in the minds of all who saw it, showed lifeless bodies strewn across the land: our brothers, our sisters, our elders, our youths. Mowed down. In cold blood.
“They were not armed. They were not criminals. They were not combatants. They were Igbos. They were human beings. Yet in one savage sweep, they were reduced to statistics. To silence. To corpses.
“This was not a random act of violence. It was genocide unfolding in real time. The screams were real. The blood was real. The deaths were real. And just as real, the deafening indifference of those in power. So I ask again, with searing urgency: Is there still a government in Imo State?
“Does governance still exist, or has it been replaced completely by brute force, impunity, and the silent complicity of those who once swore an oath to protect? Let it be said, without fear or favour: Alaigbo is bleeding. Alaigbo is burning. Alaigbo is dying.”
He lamented that those who should act have either turned away in silence or, worse, joined in the desecration, adding that the last time the region witnessed the scale of targeted extermination was during the Biafran War.
“But that was war declared. What we are seeing today is war undeclared; a silent, systematic war. A war against a people rendered vulnerable simply because of who they are.
“The value of life in Alaigbo has sunk to chilling lows. A society where human life holds no worth is no longer a society, it is a jungle. And today, our beloved Alaigbo stands as a wasteland of shattered dreams, unburied corpses, and questions that echo with no answers.
“What hope can we speak of when the present is soaked in innocent blood? This is a call to conscience.A call to leadership. A call to urgent action.
“Those entrusted with power; at the local, state, and federal levels, must rise beyond the confines of partisanship, fear, and self-interest. They must act swiftly to institute a security framework that respects rights and restores peace, a system that protects, not exterminates; that heals, not harms.
“We demand answers. We demand accountability. We demand justice. This is not just a political failure.It is a moral collapse. A spiritual betrayal. The slow murder of a people’s soul. Let Alaigbo rise.Let the truth be spoken, free from fear. Let those in power act, before our silence becomes complicity.
“Let the killings stop. Let the mourning end. Let healing begin. We unequivocally condemn this barbaric and dastardly act in its entirety, and we demand immediate and decisive action from the government, if indeed any semblance of governance still exists in Imo State. Enough is enough, if it has not already been.May the souls of the innocent rest in peace. And may our land find redemption, before it is too late,” the statement concluded.
