South-East elders under the aegis of the Coalition of Igbo Unions have called on Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, to apologise and rescind his alleged plan to evict northern cattle traders from the state. The appeal is coming barely one week after about 70 decomposing bodies and skeletons were discovered near the Abia Cattle Market, Lokpanta, in the Umuchieze area. Reacting via a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, the Coalition of Igbo Unions asked Otti to retract his alleged ‘ethnically-motivated’ utterances and apologise to the northern traders. The statement was jointly signed Chairman of the Coalition of Igbo Unions, Obinna Okoroafor; Secretary, Udoka Onwuka and Public Relations Officer, Maduabuchi Madu. “The plight of northern traders in the cattle market if not handled satisfactorily will set a dangerous precedent which will ignite violence and clashes in various parts of Nigeria against the Igbo.

Source: Punch November 04, 2023 11:27 UTC