The Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) Worldwide has reacted to a video which has gone viral in the social media where some people armed with assorted rifles, threatened to attack Ijaw in Edo State, drawing the Federal and Edo State governments’ attention to the development.
Mr. Roland Pereotubo Oweilaemi, President, IYC worldwide, in a statement made available to The NEXT EDITION on Monday, described it as an act of cowardice by feeble minded people, stressing that the Ijaw nation was equal to the task of defending themselves, but had to thread with caution for the sake of peace and harmony.
The IYC boss maintained that if the faces which appeared in the footage were people being sponsored by the Bini Kingdom, “then, we are surprised why they chose to use such sickening method to threaten people who are ever ready to protect themselves and their lands.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ijaw man can never be cowed or emasculated by the threats of those fugitive miscreants. We will not abandon our ancestral lands in Edo State for anybody, including the Bini land grabbers,” adding that the entire Ijaw nation was solidly behind the Ijaw in Edo State.
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Oweilaemi stressed: “We will not take it likely if those Bini war mongers make good their threat of violence against any Ijaw settlement in the state. Such will be responded to with a bloody fratricidal war. Those beating the gong of war should be wary of the consequences of their actions.
“The silence of the Bini Kingdom in the face of this provocative video footage by those alleged Bini delinquents is preposterous and suspicious. The Oba of Benin’s gleeful silence means that the delinquents are speaking his mind.
“We are calling on the Edo State and the Federal Governments to immediately take steps to investigate the video. The security agencies should also rise up to the occasion by investigating the source of the video and bring to book anybody found culpable.
“The Ijaw people will not sit idly and allow the Bini war mongers to attack us. If the governments fail and/or refuse to carry out their primary functions of securing lives and properties, then the Ijaw in Edo State will protect themselves against invaders.”
