*File photograph of a roundabout, opposite Rockview Hotel in the heart of Owerri, Imo State Capital
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has dismissed claims of the so-called Fulani herdsmen and almajiris lurking in forests around the state waiting for order from their Jihadist northern leaders to attack Igbo people of the South-East Nigeria.
During the national lockdown and ban on interstate movement, which have not been lifted even as at the time of this report, uncountable number of trucks including trucks belonging to Dangote, the Muslim richest man in Africa were seen smuggling hundreds and thousands of Hausa able bodied youths to the South-East, South-West and South-South of Nigeria from the north, which fueled the news that the northern Muslims are planning to execute some sinister agenda.
But the Imo State Governor who is suffering from trust issues from Imolites because of the way he emerged as governor when the Supreme Court sacked their duly elected Governor Emeka Ihedioha has insisted that there are no herdsmen and almajiris hiding in forests waiting to attack residents of the state. The governor assured residents of adequate security, adding that the opposition was behind such claims.
Uzodinma urged residents to go about their normal business without fear because there was no cause for alarm. He said: “There is no truth in the story that herdsmen and alimajiris are lurking in the forest waiting for a time to attack Imo people. It is a wicked rumour mastermind by the opposition. Imo people should go about their normal business as there is no cause for alarm. The government is on top of the security situation in the state.”
However, it would be recalled that recently, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, had alleged that Northern youths planned to terrorize the Southeast using almajiris and thousands of their jobless youths to cause distabilisation of the East. Kanu also claimed that Arewa leaders were exporting COVID-19 infected northern youths to infect and kill people in the South-East.
