NEWS
Insecurity: Ohanaeze Accuses PMB of Heaping Blames on Victims
By Edozie Obasi-Eze
Pan Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has expressed concern that President Muhammadu Buhari would be heaping blames on the victims of incessant killings in the southeast, instead of living up to his responsibility as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic.
Admitting that the escalating security situation in the southeast was cause for concern, the umbrella Igbo body, in a statement on Monday, decried a recent position attributed to the President as both uncharitable and mischievous, which could poison undiscerning minds because it insinuated that non-indigenes and security officials were being killed by the terrorists in the South East.
Recall that President Buhari’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Sunday said, “President Muhammadu Buhari condemned in strong terms the recent attacks against non-indigenes and law enforcement officials by terrorists in the South East.”
He went ahead to urge “community and religious leaders to speak more forcefully against the killings and to stand up and defend the ethos of the nation’s cultural and religious heritage.”
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has taken exception to the position of President Buhari, in a statement on Monday, titled, ‘Insecurity in the South East: Buhari is blaming the victim,’ President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Amb Prof George Obiozor, made it clear that Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemned the killings and violence imposed on the South East by President Buhari’s administration, of which he cannot turn around to blame the victim.
Prof Obiozor barred his mind in the statement released by Publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze National, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia.
He maintained that any attempt to appropriate national problems to the South East of Nigeria would amount to taking ethnic prejudice to the extreme.
In the words of Prof Obiozor, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide joins the Presidency and indeed the good people of Nigeria in condemning this dastardly act that occurred at Imo State, South East of Nigeria.
“Ohanaeze has repeatedly explained that amongst the Igbo, human life is very sacred. The sanctity of life is so elevated that killing a human being in whatever circumstance is considered an abomination. In fact, it is not in the character of the Igbo to kill in whatever disguise.
“These recent developments are indeed very much alien to the reflexes, culture, and norms of the South East. And we have often called on the Nigerian security operatives to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts are brought to book as a deterrent to others.”
Ohanaeze, pointed out that any failure on the part of the Nigerian security agents to fish out the criminals cannot be blamed on the Igbo, wondering why the situation in the southeast was being treated as an isolated case.
“Ohaneaeze Ndigbo, however, frowns at the statement by the Presidency, which is nuanced against the South East as a haven for terrorists that attack non-indigenes and law enforcement officials, implying that the insecurity persists because the leaders have not forcefully spoken.
“This is very unfair to the Igbo, especially when the presidency knows the root cause and the nature of the insecurity in the South East.
“It needs to be added that the solution to the insecurity in the South East lies in the enormous powers of the presidency.
“The above remarks by the presidency appear to have ignored the prolonged open war with the Boko Haram in the North East; the Banditry in the North West, especially in Katsina State; the Fulani Herdsmen invasion of several communities in the Middle Belt region; the Church massacre at Owo; the daily kidnappings on our highways; the Kaduna-Abuja train abduction, etc,.”
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In the statement, Prof Obiozor reminded the Presidency that they spoke differently when the district head of President Buhari’s hometown was taken captive and freed after two months.
“Paradoxically, when the district head of Daura, the hometown of Mr President, was kidnapped and was freed after two months, Mallam Garba Shehu was quoted as saying that the ‘incident was evidence that Duara was not receiving preferential treatment and that insecurity was a national problem.’
“In other words, when insecurity manifests in the North West, it is a national problem; but when, on the other hand, it occurs in the South East, it is blamed on the inability of the ‘community and religious leaders to speak more forcefully against the killings and to stand up and defend the ethos of the nation’s cultural and religious heritage’,” he added.
According to Prof Obiozor the Igbo remain the most nationally spread of all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, despite the persisting insecurity.
The statement further averred that “The Igbo possess the greatest wanderlust as well as the most hospitable dispositions amongst the various ethnicities in the world. The non-indigenes in the South East enjoy untrammeled friendliness, inter-ethnic assimilation and a conducive business environment; what happened to the non-indigenes in the South East is most regrettable as part of the current national calamity.
“One would think that the inevitable consequences of the orchestrated mendacious propaganda, dubiety, subterfuge, sabotage, and serial alienation against the South East of Nigeria are already staring us in the face.”
In what appears like an attempt at identifying some of the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria, Ohanaeze wondered, “How do we fight insecurity by appointment of service chiefs based on ethnocentric and religious considerations as against the best global practices of military competence?
“Put differently, how can the South East be excluded among the over 16 service chiefs in the Nigerian armed and paramilitary forces and expect insecurity not to fester? And how; and how; and how…..? And when the chickens have come home to roost, we resort to blaming the victim.
“The famous psychologist, William Ryan, espoused that blaming the victim is an atrocious ideology that tries to justify social injustice against a group. The oppressor deliberately creates an unjust chaotic environment for the oppressed; and blames the victims for the inevitable crises that flow therefrom.
“In conclusion, it is very uncharitable, if not mischievous, to poison undiscerning minds by insinuating that non-indigenes and security officials are killed by the terrorists in the South East.
“On the other hand, to appropriate national problem to the South East of Nigeria is an ethnic prejudice taken too far. Invariably, banditry in the North Central persists because their leaders have not forcefully spoken. Rather, they are publicly celebrated and turbaned or still offered the Sheik Gumi option.
“Both history and current events in the country must have shown that unjust policy against the just shall ultimately vindicate the just,” Ohanaeze stated.
The Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency (CRISSAA) has fixed N150 million as the tariff for outdoor campaign advertisements by presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Under the new tariff, governorship candidates will pay N100 million, while senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates and State House of Assembly candidates are expected to pay N50 million, N25 million and N5 million, respectively.
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The Director-General of CRISSAA, Ubong Sam, disclosed the rates during an interactive session with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Calabar.
Sam said the tariffs were moderate compared with what obtains in neighbouring states, adding that CRISSAA had introduced measures to regulate advertising spaces and ensure fairness among political parties and candidates.
“We have tried to regulate advert space, by not allowing anybody to insult the integrity of anybody or party, by being fair in all ramifications, by giving advertisers opportunity to either dialogue or arbitration and not necessarily by litigation,” he said.
The CRISSAA boss also directed political parties to remove their campaign billboards and other advertising materials within 30 days after the announcement of election results.
According to him, campaign materials left beyond the 30-day period would be considered a nuisance.
“Immediately after each election, at the expiration when results are announced, political parties are given 30 days to take off their campaign materials. Once it’s beyond 30 days, the advert materials become a nuisance,” Sam said.
He warned that defaulters could have their campaign materials removed, pay fines or face prosecution before the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
While IPAC state chairman, Effiom Edet, backed the tariffs and described them as fair, some political parties rejected the charges.
The state chairman of the Action Democratic Party and the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the tariffs as outrageous and exorbitant, arguing that they could prevent less financially buoyant parties from using billboards to publicise their campaigns.
PDP spokesman, Mike Ojisi, said he was not part of any IPAC meeting where the tariffs were agreed.
“The tariff is outrageous, exorbitant and a ploy to prevent other political parties from carrying out massive publicity through billboards. The tariff is totally unacceptable,” he said.
The new charges are expected to fuel further debate among political parties and stakeholders as preparations intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Pelumi Olajengbesi, spokesman for Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election campaign, has threatened to institute a ₦10 billion defamation suit against Senator Francis Fadahunsi over alleged defamatory statements.
Olajengbesi, through his lawyer, Hammed Lasisi, Esq., issued the threat in a letter dated August 12, 2026, demanding that the senator retract the statements and issue an unequivocal public apology within 24 hours.
The lawyer said the statements were made by Fadahunsi during television interviews on Viable TV on July 2 and Channels Television’s Politics Today on August 11.
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According to the letter, Fadahunsi allegedly questioned Olajengbesi’s identity and origin, stating that he was “not even from the same Ijebu-Jesha” and was “from somewhere in Ogun State.”
The senator also allegedly accused the campaign spokesman of “using thugs, Eiye and Aye.”
Olajengbesi’s lawyer argued that the remarks suggested that his client sponsored, associated with or deployed thugs and members of the Eiye and Aye cult groups for political activities.
The letter further cited Fadahunsi’s appearance on Politics Today, where he allegedly said of the late Ajayi Aderogba, popularly known as Rogba: “Rogba is an Eiye man sponsored by Barr. Olajengbesi terrorising the whole … my own territory up and down through all these Eiye and Aye.”
Olajengbesi denied the allegations, describing them as false, defamatory and injurious to his personal, professional and political reputation.
He maintained that he had never sponsored, financed, supported or patronised any cult group or its members for criminal, political or unlawful activities.
He also denied authorising anyone to terrorise, intimidate or attack members of the public on his behalf.
According to his lawyer, the allegation of sponsoring cultists and persons involved in acts of terror amounted to an accusation of criminal conduct and was particularly damaging to Olajengbesi as a legal practitioner and public figure.
The campaign spokesman has therefore demanded that Fadahunsi retract the alleged defamatory statements through the same media and social media platforms where they were published or disseminated.
He also demanded an “unequivocal and unreserved public apology” through appropriate national and social media platforms.
The lawyer warned that failure to comply within 24 hours would prompt Olajengbesi to approach the court to seek ₦10 billion in general and aggravated damages for defamation and injurious falsehood.
The dispute comes amid heightened political activities ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election.
At least 44 people have died after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, with authorities continuing the search for possible survivors and missing passengers.
The ferry, operated by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, overturned on Tuesday while carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unspecified number of children.
According to Zimbabwe’s Civil Protection Unit, the vessel had a capacity of 90 people, indicating that it was carrying more passengers than its stated limit.
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Authorities initially reported that 77 people had been rescued and 15 bodies recovered. However, the Zimbabwe Republic Police later announced on Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 44.
“The ZRP informs the public that the death toll in the Kariba RIDA boat accident is now 44,” the police said in a statement posted on X.
A witness, Maxton Kanhema, told AFP that the ferry had departed in bad weather and may have been hit by a strong wave, causing its engines to switch off.
He said rescuers responded after a distress signal was seen and that bodies could be seen in the water.
“People were in distress… There were bodies in the water, and it was a sad situation to witness. Those that could be rescued were rescued,” Kanhema said.
A national park provided a helicopter to support the rescue operation, while larger boats, local divers and soldiers also joined the search.
The Civil Protection Unit said a specialised aquatic rescue team had been airlifted to the area. The 77 rescued passengers were taken to Long Island, located in the middle of the lake.
Two funeral parlours were also engaged to collect the recovered bodies as the search continued for anyone still unaccounted for.
The ferry serves communities between the northern town of Kariba and several islands and fishing villages around Lake Kariba.
Lake Kariba, which lies along the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is more than 300 kilometres northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. It is the world’s largest man-made lake by volume.
The incident is one of the worst recorded passenger boat disasters on Lake Kariba.
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