Ndigbo Lagos has condemned as defamatory the allegation that former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, is one of the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the North and threatening to split up Nigeria.
Azubuike Ihejirika
Stephen Davis, an Australian, made the allegation on Thursday, August 28 in an interview with Arise Television. He also alleged that former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, is a sponsor of the Islamic sect.
Ndigbo Lagos countered that the interview was stage managed to tarnish the image of Ihejirika.
“Davis did not adduce or suggest any single evidence to support his accusation. Curiously when in the same breadth he said he has knowledge of the sponsor of the Abuja Nyanya bombing he refused to name names.
“Most tragic in this choreographed defamation of an illustrious general is the interviewer’s unprofessionalism in failing to demand evidence from Ihejirika’s accuser,” said Chuma Igwe, Ndigbo Lagos Director of Communications and Strategy.
Igwe noted that although Ihejirika has since denied the allegation, given the lack of evidence, the way the allegation was made, and the character of Ihejirika, the group believes his traducers are playing dirty politics.
It said Ihejirika will be remembered for being one of the most outstanding army commanders Nigeria has ever had because he was an accomplished tactician and strategic leader of a fighting force.
“In his time he not only decimated the fighting capability of Boko Haram, he also built enduring military institutions to permanently checkmate insurgency in Nigeria,” the group maintained.
It recalled that Ihejirika “not only established the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army with headquarters in Maiduguri, he also established new Army Brigades, Counter Terrorism Schools in Kachia and Jaji.”
It wondered why a man whom some Northerners wanted prosecuted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged genocide because he crushed Boko Haram is being accused of sponsoring the same terrorists.
“When Ihejirika retired from the army, the same self-selected Northern bigots wanted him tried by The World Court for being overzealous in crushing Boko Haram. Eight months down the road, the same Ihejirika is now accused of being a sponsor.
“The orchestration of this insidious allegation reveals the tragic indulgence in denial, escapism by the same self-centred Northern politicians who would rather create hell to rule over than serve in heaven.”
Ndigbo Lagos reiterated that those who ride the tiger will inevitably find themselves in its belly and urged Abuja to institute an inquiry into the allegation and lay it to rest.
