Some Igbo youths have called for the arrest and trial of the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for accusing the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi and his running-mate, Dr Yusuf Datti-Ahmed of inciting insurrection.
Describing the allegation as “fake news”, the Igbo youths stated that the minister’s action was embarrassing to the country because he chose far away Washington DC, United States of America (USA) to tell the “lies and make hate speech” against Obi and Datti-Ahmed.
The president-general of the umbrella organisation of Igbo youth groups, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), Hon Goodluck Ibem, who expressed the anger of the youths against Lai Mohammed for accusing Obi and Datti-Ahmed of committing treason, stated that the minister’s action was “aimed at causing insurrection and war among the Nigerian people.”
He therefore insisted that Lai Mohammed should be arrested and properly investigated by the United States government arguing that the action should be viewed as “International crime” since it was committed in Washington DC.
The Igbo youth leader also described Lai Mohammed’s action as “smokescreen of an evil plot by the federal government of Nigeria against Nigerians, and the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate and his running-mate aimed at silencing them to abandon the mandate freely given to them (Obi and Datti-Ahmed) by Nigerians (on February 25, 2023).”
Ibem stated that Lai Mohammed had earlier warned Obi and Datti-Ahmed against going to court to challenge the outcome of the presidential election which the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his running-mate, Senator Kashim Shettima were declared winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP titled, “Lies By Lai Mohammed Against Peter Obi Is A Treasonable Offence, Call On United States To Arrest Lai Mohammed Immediately For Hate Speech”, the Igbo youth leader also accused the information minister of de-marketing Nigeria in the eyes of the international community.
Ibem said, “It is laughable that a man of Lai Mohammed standing who is supposed to portray the good image of the Nigerian state outside the shores of the nation is de-marketing his own country just for his own selfish political benefits and that of his political party the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Lai Mohammed in one of his statements said that Mr Peter Obi the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, was not supposed to go to court which is the most legitimate means to seek redress over the presidential election he clearly won. One begins to wonder how does going to court become a treasonable offence or an act of insurrection?”, the COSEYL leader asserted.
