Nigerians are calling on members of the House of Representatives to address domestic hate speech incidents before demanding foreign authorities to act, saying charity begins at home.
They urge Reps Biodun Omoleye, Chairman of the Nigeria-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Tochukwu Chinedu Okere, Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora Matters, to prosecute members of the Lagospedia group. This group had given the Igbo community a 30-day ultimatum to leave Lagos and the entire South-West region with their businesses.
This call to action follows the Representatives’ recent request to the Canadian government to investigate and prosecute Amaka Patience Sunnberger, who allegedly threatened to poison Yoruba and Benin individuals in Ontario, Canada. Sunnberger’s remarks were reportedly made in response to threats against Igbo children by some individuals from the Yoruba and Benin communities.
The controversy erupted after a video surfaced on social media where individuals allegedly called for the unalive of Igbo children. In a response during a virtual TikTok meeting, Sunnberger threatened to bring poisonous substances to her workplace to harm Yoruba or Benin individuals she encountered, citing perceived hostility against the Igbo ethnic group.
NN News Media reaclled that Lagospedia had calls a “massive protest” under the hashtag #IgboMustGo, set to occur between August 20th and 30th. They demanded that all Igbo people relocate their businesses from the South-West states, urging Yoruba people living in the South-East to return to the West.
This hate campaign coincided with recent nationwide hardship protests and followed previous instances of ethnic hate speech, including those made by presidential media aide Bayo Onanuga. Ethnic stigmatization of the Igbo has been on the rise since the 2023 general elections, despite condemnation from political figures like former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Peoples Democratic Party candidate Atiku Abubakar, and President Bola Tinubu.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State distanced himself and his administration from the inflammatory remarks by Lagospedia, affirming that Lagos remains home to all Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnicity. The South-East Caucus in the National Assembly also denounced the anti-Igbo rhetoric, calling for an end to ethnic profiling.
Despite these condemnations, there have been no arrests related to the threats against the Igbo community. Rather it was revealed that Kehinde Adesoga Adekusibe, who previously called for the mass killing of Igbo people on social media, was arrested by Osun police but allegedly released without prosecution.
Adekusibe admitted to making the inflammatory remarks, but there have been no public updates on his case, prompting speculation that he may have been discreetly discharged. Amid growing public outrage, he deactivated his X account (formerly Twitter), and the authorities have yet to clarify his legal status.
Many Nigerians are now demanding that the police provide an update on Adekusibe’s case. As of yet, the police have not responded to these calls for accountability.
