The Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern Elders Forum have warned that Nigeria risks sliding into anarchy if the Federal Government fails to rein in Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, over his reported ultimatum to Fulani leaders in Oyo State following the abduction of a pregnant woman and her relatives.
The groups, alongside several Fulani associations, accused Igboho of ethnic profiling and cautioned that attempts to hold an entire ethnic group responsible for the actions of suspected criminals could inflame tensions, provoke reprisals and undermine national unity.
Igboho, on Monday, defended his move, adding that his advocacy for effective security of the South-West was not targeted at any ethnic nationality but rather against criminal elements, who are perpetrating abduction, killings, banditry, and other vices.
The warnings and Igboho reaction came as the Oyo State police command and the Oorelope Local Government chairman dismissed reports that the abducted woman, Mrs Kuburat Omowumi, her son and other relatives had regained their freedom, insisting that they remained in captivity and that rescue efforts were ongoing.
The controversy followed a viral video in which Igboho reportedly issued a two-hour ultimatum to Fulani leaders in the Igboho community, Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, demanding the release of the abducted victims.
In the video, Igboho accused unnamed Fulani men of engaging in kidnappings in the area, alleging that the victims were being held in a forest location within the community.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, on Sunday, described the ultimatum given to the ethnic group as unconstitutional, dangerous and capable of worsening the country’s security challenges.
