TheCable

Yarima Shettima, president of the Arewa Youth Coalition, says the group is reviewing its stand on the quit notice issued to Igbo living in north, but Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) must be punished.

In an interview with Tribune, Shettima commended the reaction of the Ohanaeze and other Igbo leaders to the call for secession by IPOB.

“The steps taken by the governors are commendable. One, we have since expected the governors to do what they are doing now. Nevertheless, it is better late than never for,” Shettima said.

“What the Ohanaeze and other organisations that came out to denounce the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are doing is commendable.

“We are also reviewing our own situation. We are going to have a meeting soon with other leaders of the coalition and come out with a clear position of things and what we intend to do in order to move forward.”

On Kanu, Shettima said: “The coalition would see to it that Nnamdi Kanu who has terrorised the country is punished.

“We will go as far to ensure that we take him to the international court of justice. We will internationalise his case and ensure that this young man is declared a terrorist. He can’t be allowed to go just like that,” he said.

“To us, we are seeing what he is doing as a business venture. So, as far as we are concerned, a country should not be run as a banana republic where somebody can do anything and get away with it, without respect for the rule of law.”

He, however, added that the call for the evacuation of the Igbo from the north was not totally off the table.

“I am not saying we have completely removed the earlier condition that they should leave the north. However, the fact of the matter still remains that one, we are not violent. Secondly, we intend also to explore all necessary avenues and ensure that, at the end of the day, things are being done in accordance with the law,” he said.

“Inasmuch as we appreciate the fact that it is their right to demand self-determination, we are also saying, if you are asking for self-determination, there are certain procedures to go about it.”