AYCF warns South-East governors to stop arresting Northerners

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum is condemning what it refers to as a random arrest of 486 northerners in Abia State as suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

The group argued that the arrested northerners had no link with Boko Haram, warning the South-East governors that such action was capable of fueling enmity between the northerners and southerners.

The President of AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima was worred that a continuation of such arrests could lead to the break-up of Nigeria.

“This gives us a lot of worry. Are these South-East governors or whoever is at the helms of affairs doing this in the interest of this country or to cause more hatred for our people, so that the country will break up?

“We are not in support of Boko Haram or their bomb attacks. We are saying that innocent citizens should not suffer because some evil-minded people come from their area. I can tell you that those who were arrested in Abia are not Boko Haram members.

“We had a case where about 500 people arrested in Lagos. I intervened and on getting to the force headquarters, we discovered that most of them were innocent and they were released.

“We are not saying security agencies should not do their work, but they should not go about arresting hundreds of people just because they are looking for one or two suspects.”

Those who are acting out this script of disintegration are not helping this country, especially at this challenging period.

Shettima also said it was wrong to assume that only northerners were planting bombs in the country, adding that some southerners had been arrested for terrorism.

He condemned the northern governors and other political leaders in the region for keeping quiet while northerners were being victimised

I would like to ask Alhaji Yerima Shettima a question. Where were you when Boko Haram was killing Christians all these time? Okay, let me ask you some more.

What have you done outside condemning the killings of Christians in the north with words?

What were five (5) full buses of your people moving to the South-East going to do?

And why were there among them known terrorist?

Yerima, there are so many questions to be asked and am sure you cannot answer any of them, so please sit back as you have always done when Christians were been killed by your kins-men and allow the police do their job.