Anxiety As Northern Elders Ask Court to Exit Southeast From Nigeria
- Stakeholders from the north are making serious legal moves to make sure the southeast leaves Nigeria
- The northerners have already filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to make this possible
- The suit is urging the court to prevail on the National Assembly to exit Igbos from the country completely
- But reacting to this, lawyers from the southeast have asked the court for inclusion in the suit as defendants as this is a crucial issue to the Igbos
Some northern elders have filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to order the National Assembly to exit the southeastern region from Nigeria.
The plaintiffs, led by Nastura Ashir Shariff, Balarabe Rufa’I, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman, and Aminu Adam, are aiming to achieve this goal before the end of the ongoing constitutional review.
Source: Facebook
Reason for suit
According to the group, this is one of the ways to end the violence associated with agitations for secession from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu, The Sun reports.
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A publication from Daily Trust said these northerners claim they are trying to avoid a recurrence of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war that claimed a lot of lives from both sides.
Among those listed as defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Senate President Ahmad Lawan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the National Assembly.
Opposition to suit
However, the lawyers of Igbo extraction have applied to the court to join them as defendants in the suit, which, according to them, is capable of affecting the lives of southeasterners.
The legal team comprising a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Chuks Muoma, Ukpai Ukairo, Ebere Uzoatu and Honourable Obi Emuka are of the view that joining them in the suit as defendants is only fair.
They argued that this will provide the level-playing ground for them to speak in defence of the Igbos in court.
Their application read in part:
"That the Igbo Lawyers Association and its objective is to represent the interest of the Igbo people which said people are Indigenous in the South East of Nigeria. Thus, the association is interested and is a necessary party to be joined.
"That It will serve the interest of justice if the Honourable court grants the application and join the applicants as defendants in the suit and that the plaintiffs will not be prejudiced if the application is granted."
What Nnamdi Kanu's trial will cause in Nigeria, presidency
Meanwhile, the Nigerian presidency had replied to a London newspaper, The Economist, over its criticism of the President Buhari-led administration.
In a recent statement, a presidential media aide, Garba Shehu, slammed the paper for criticising his principal over security situations in Nigeria.
Shehu noted that it is the belief of the president that Kanu's trial will lead to the end of violent crimes committed by IPOB in the southeast.
Source: Legit.ng
