MIRIAM NNOLI 
The apex Igbo socio-political organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, on Monday, declared that people of the South-East would not participate in the proposed Thursday, June 12 Democracy Day protest across the country.
Distancing itself from the protest in a statement issued by its Deputy President General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the group stated that the decision not to participate in the protests was not born out of indifference, but rather a calculated maneuver aimed at safeguarding the lives and properties of the Igbo people.
The group insisted that no protests would be permitted across the South-East until the Nigerian government adequately addressed their collective questions.
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The statement read: “We wish to convey a crucial, and perhaps uncomfortable, reality to the organisers of the national protests.
“There exists a unanimous consensus among Ndigbo regarding our refusal to engage in any form of protest, neither in our region nor in other locales across Nigeria where Igbo reside.
“Moreover, it is of utmost importance to inform the public that a clandestine plot is reportedly being contrived in Abuja, Kaduna, Maiduguri, and Lagos by unpatriotic politicians and unscrupulous anti-democratic elements.
“It appears there is an intention to utilise these national protests as instruments of destabilisation against President Tinubu’s administration, all while seeking to cast the Igbo as adversaries of the state. This must not stand unchallenged.
”Historical evidence reveals that during such struggles, Igbos have been ruthlessly scapegoated and sacrificially consumed in the frenzy of national unrest.
“For 65 years post-independence, we have witnessed our people suffer disproportionately in anti-government protests, highlighted by an unforgiving tide of violence.
“Compounding these extraordinary challenges are the severe insecurity issues pervading the South-East, which render any form of protest not only imprudent but perilous.
“Additionally, it is paramount to assert that we, as Igbos, will not engage in national protests until our urgent demands are addressed, particularly the release of all Igbo prisoners of conscience unlawfully held across various detention centers.”
