DON'T EVICT CATTLE TRADERS OVER DECOMPOSING BODIES, GROUP URGES OTTI.(PHOTO).

Don’t evict cattle traders over decomposing bodies, group urges Otti

South-East group, under the aegis of the Coalition of Igbo Unions, has urged the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, to rescind his alleged plan to evict Northern cattle traders from his state.

The appeal is coming barely one week after about 70 decomposing bodies and skeletons were discovered near Abia cattle market Lokpanta in the Umuchieze area.

While calling for dialogue, the Igbo group warned that any attempt to forcefully eject the traders from their region could snowball into a crisis that would inevitably affect Igbo businesses in the North.

They stated this in a press release jointly signed by the Chairman of the Coalition of Igbo Unions, Obinna Okoroafor; Secretary, Udoka Onwuka and Public Relations Officer, Maduabuchi Ibe Madu.

The statement partly read, “While we acknowledge the importance of security of lives and property of Nigerians living in every part of the country, we strongly condemn and dissociate ourselves from the ethnic profiling being perpetrated by Governor Alex Otti against our brothers from Northern Nigeria doing business at the Umunneochi Cattle Market.

“This is because the move by Alex Otti to forcefully eject the Northern businesses at the cattle market will have a negative boomerang effect on Igbo traders in the North and across Nigeria. We have carefully observed that the ‘vacate the cattle market’ ultimatum issued by the governor has greatly increased the already tense socio-political atmosphere in the country.

“The plight of Northern traders in the cattle market if not handled satisfactorily will set a dangerous precedent which will ignite violence and clashes in various parts of Nigeria against Igbos.”

Governor Otti, who announced the discovery of the bodies at a Sunday media briefing, also expressed concern over the state of insecurity, saying the market had become a den for criminals and kidnappers.

The spokesperson for the Northern traders’ community, Buba Abdullahi, on Thursday at a press conference also expressed their anger over the government’s position, saying it was a subtle directive to evict them from the state.