A lawyer representing Igbos residing in the North, Vincent Egechukwu Obeta, has filed three lawsuits before the Federal High Court in Abuja, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court seeking to compel the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to arrest members of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, within seven days.
Obeta, who made the disclosure in a statement on Monday said the first lawsuit seeks an Order of Mandamus of the Federal High Court, compelling the IGP to arrest ACF’s leader, Yerima Shettima and the body’s members who had in July, issued a quit notice asking Igbos to vacate North by October 1.
Recall that the Northern group had last week withdrawn the quit notice, urging Igbos to go about their activities in the region.
But the lawyer said the second lawsuit is seeking a fundamental rights enforcement against Shettima, the IGP and the Federal Government.
Obeta noted that the lawsuit seeks to enforce the rights of the Igbo to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part of the country as guaranteed by Section 41(1) of the Constitution.
The third is a fundamental rights enforcement suit, filed at the ECOWAS Court, against Shettima, the IGP and the Federal Government.
Obeta warned that should the police boss failed to comply with the Order of Mandamus to arrest Yerima, if granted by the Federal High Court, he will approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, to press criminal charges against them.
He disclosed that one of the charges would be the aiding and abetting of a second genocide against the Igbo in the North.
Obeta said, “My criminal suit for such second genocide against Ndigbo in the North will be filed against Shettima, the IGP, the Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF), Professor Ango Abdullahi and Professor Yemi Osinbajo as the Acting President of Nigeria when the threat of a second genocide against Ndigbo in the North was issued.”
The lawyer stated that the IGP, Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo will be charged before the ICC for deliberately neglecting to arrest and prosecution of Arewa youths leader after he issued the quit notice.
“Nothing short of such arrest and prosecution will suffice to settle the three suits as filed. It is no longer news that the cynical silence and manifest bias of the Federal Government and its agencies since the treasonable threat against the Ndigbo was issued have encouraged and opened a floodgate of hate speeches and songs,” he said.
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