Detained Fredrick Nwajagu
By Tony Adibe
The leadership of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo World-wide has been tasked on the need to intervene in the case of Mr. Fredrick Nwajagu to enable him get justice.
A human rights activist, Okechukwu Nwanguma gave the task in a statement he personally signed and issued to journalists on Saturday. The statement tagged, “Urgent Call for Advocacy on Behalf of Frederick Nwajagu”, was directed to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership.
NewsBits recalls that Nwajagu was arrested by security agents at his Ajao Estate, Lagos residence following his threat to bring members of IPOB to guard Igbo businesses in Lagos, if the attacks and burning of businesses belonging to Igbos continued without any protection. That was in the heat of the 2023 political campaigns in Lagos during when some Yoruba tribalists such as M.C. Olumo and others like him, through video posts, threatened the Igbos resident in Lagos if they failed to vote for APC in the election.
But reacting to the continued detention of the Igbo business man, Nwanguma said that it was sad that Nwajagu – the said Ezigbo in Ajao Estate had spent close to two years in prison since after his arrest without remarkable intervention from the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, whose aim is, among others, the protection, welfare and interest of Ndigbo anywhere in Nigeria.
“I hereby call upon Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the socio-cultural and political organization dedicated to representing and advancing the interests of the Igbo people in Nigeria, to take immediate action regarding the continued unjust detention of Frederick Nwajagu,” Nwanguma said in the 1-page statement issued on Friday.
According to the human rights activist, “Mr. Nwajagu has now spent nearly two years in prison following his arrest in April 2023 for threatening to invite the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to protect Igbo businesses and properties amidst growing threats and attacks from certain ethnic bigots in Lagos.”
The statement further read: “It is deeply concerning that those who made the initial threats which Mr. Nwajagu responded to have not faced legal consequences, while he has been left to languish in prison. This situation highlights what appears to be a discriminatory application of the law driven by ethnic bias.
“I urge Ohanaeze Ndigbo to intervene on behalf of Mr. Nwajagu, advocating for the Lagos State Government to drop all charges against him. It is imperative that we stand for justice and equality for all citizens, regardless of their ethnic background.
“I believe that the voice of Ohanaeze can be a powerful instrument in ensuring fairness and representation for all members of the Igbo community.”
“Okechukwu Nwanguma, Human Rights Activist”.
