Hausa Residents Flee Onitsha City Following Kano Bombing

On Tuesday, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike said that there will be
no reprisal on northerners in the South-East after the bus
bombing in Kano on Monday that killed more than 30
people. Uwazuruike is the leader of the Movement for the
Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). “We are not known for bloodletting and Ndigbo cannot be
cowed into shedding blood but we want an end to this
senseless bloodletting of the Igbo in the North in whatever
name called,” he said. Uwazuruike’s assurance came as Hausa residents in
Onitsha shut their shops and fled the city they fear
reprisals. The non-indigenes who are mainly composed of northerners
closed all of their businesses at the Head Bridge Market and other parts of the city in order to secure themselves in different security stations which include the police stations
and Army barracks. Ndigbo Unity Forum Chairman Augustine Chukwudum and Anambra Traders’ Forum Chairman Dede Uzor
condemned the Kano attack and said that it is a threat to the unity of the country. The 2 chairmen also praised Onitsha 302 Army Cantonment Commander Col T. Gagariga, Navy Commander A.
Ahmed, and Onitsha Area Police Commander Benjamin Wordu for their prompt intervention and efforts in calming
the people in Onitsha. “We call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Kano, Borno, Gombe, Yobe, and Adamawa
states. That is the only option left to stop these killings of Ndigbo in the northern states of Nigeria. We call on Federal Government to compensate the families of those who lost their loved ones in the attack. Let
security men take full control of the situation and provide security for Ndigbo in the North,” Chukwudum said.