The Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, has denied issueing any directive asking the Igbo living in the northern part of the country to relocate.
Reports were rife on social media over the weekend that the traditional ruler had asked persons of south-east extraction living in the north to relocate immediately, following the protests over the killing of a student in Sokoto.
Deborah Samuel, a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, was stoned to death and set ablaze on May 12 over alleged blasphemy.
Following the incident, there were protests across Sokoto over the weekend, with demonstrators demanding the release of suspects arrested in connection with the murder.
During the protests, churches were attacked , while other buildings were destroyed.
Speaking on the reports that he had asked the Igbo living in the north to move to the south, the Obi of Onitsha, in a statement issued on Tuesday by Chinyelugo Anionwu, his chief of staff, described such reports as “fake”.
“The attention of Imeobi Onicha Palace has been drawn to a statement to the effect that His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi, Obi of Onitsha, has called on every Igbo living in the North to come back home immediately,” the statement reads.
“The statement which has gone viral on social media is fake and should be discountenanced.”
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