Threat to poison Igbos: HURIWA demands arrest of Austria-based Ugiagbe, sack of Bayo Onanuga

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has charged the Federal Government to take immediate action against Mr. Kingsley Ugiagbe, a Nigerian residing in Vienna, Austria, for making inflammatory and dangerous statements threatening mass killings of Nigerians of Igbo extraction.

The group said it strongly condemned the hateful rhetoric and urged the Nigerian authorities to apply the same level of commitment and pressure as was done in the case of Canada-based Nigerian, Mrs Amaka Sonnberger, who advocated for the poisoning of Yorubas and Benin people and was subsequently arrested by Canadian authorities.

According to HURIWA, the call for Ugiagbe’s arrest is not only a matter of justice but a necessary step toward preventing ethnic violence and promoting peace in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the human rights advocacy group expressed deep concern over the growing trend of ethnic hate speech, which it described as a serious threat to Nigeria’s fragile unity.

the swift action taken by the Nigerian government when Sonnberger’s video, where she called for the poisoning of certain ethnic groups, went viral.

The association demanded that the same approach be adopted in dealing with Ugiagbe, who has openly threatened mass poisoning of Igbo people.

“The same way Nigeria mounted pressure on the Canadian government, which led to the arrest and prosecution of Amaka Sonnberger, should be applied in the case of Kingsley Ugiagbe,” HURIWA’s statement said.

“The gravity of his threats cannot be ignored, and justice must be served. Hate speech and incitement to violence should be addressed wherever and whenever they occur, and those responsible must face the consequences of their actions.”

The human rights organization warned that failing to take decisive action against Ugiagbe would send a dangerous signal that ethnic threats and hate speech against the Igbos could go unpunished, thus emboldening others to propagate hate and incite violence.

In addition, the organization urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately sack Bayo Onanuga, his Special Assistant on Strategic Communications, whom it described as a notorious Igbo hater.

Onanuga, according to HURIWA, has been vocal in his disdain for Igbos, especially during the 2023 elections, when he was reported to have made inflammatory statements about the Igbos’ involvement in Lagos politics.

“Onanuga’s public declaration that 2023 would be the last time Igbos would be politically active in Lagos” is, according to HURIWA, “a dangerous narrative that incites ethnic hatred and could have severe consequences for national unity.

“Bayo Onanuga has made it abundantly clear that he harbors deep resentment toward the Igbos, and his statements suggest that he is willing to stoke ethnic tensions in the future.

“His assertion that Igbos will no longer participate in Lagos politics after 2023 is a clear indication of his agenda to sideline and marginalize a significant ethnic group in Nigeria. Such a person has no business holding a strategic communications role in the President’s administration,” HURIWA stated.

HURIWA argued that Tinubu’s continued retention of Onanuga in his government sends the wrong message to Nigerians, particularly the Igbo community, who may feel that the President is tacitly endorsing anti-Igbo rhetoric.

The group, however, clarified that it does not believe Tinubu harbors any anti-Igbo sentiments, given his familial ties to the Igbo community.

Tinubu’s children are married to Igbo spouses, which HURIWA sees as evidence that the President is an Igbo in-law and not an Igbo hater.