A coalition of Igbo women under the aegis of Assembly of Igbo Women in Nigeria and Diaspora (AIWND), Monday handed a 24-hour ultimatum to the Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, to investigate the reported assault on the daughter of the immediate past governor of the state and wife of the governorship candidate of Action Alliance (AA) Mrs. Uloma Rochas Nwosu by members of the Committee on the Recovery of Government Property set up by the state government.
The group which converged on Owerri, the Imo State capital, described the beating of the former governor’s daughter by officials of the state government as an affront on Igbo women and the tradition of Igbo land.
It was reported that the former governor’s daughter was manhandled by government officials during the invasion of her mother’s business mall by the Committee on Recovery of Government Property.
They also demanded among other things, immediate halt to further harassment and intimidation of family members of the governor and other perceived opponents of the state government, urging the state governor to protect the women against molestations, irrespective of their political leanings.
Addressing journalists after an emergency Executive meeting of the group, the National President, Mrs. Nwankwo Nwakaego, demanded the arrest and prosecution of the key players in the assault incident, which she said include the Chairman of the Committee, Jasper Ndubuaku, Chief Security to the Governor and another unnamed member of the taskforce.
According to her if at the expiration of the ultimatum, the group will be left with no other option than to initiate legal actions against the state and the people responsible for the assault.
In her words, “we are demanding an open apology from Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha over the attack on Igbo woman by officials of his government; it is an aberration and an affront on entire Igbo women, which we will not take. The governor should borrow a leaf from other governors from the Southeast zone and respect our women.
“We are also calling on the Inspector General of Police to wade into the matter and bring all indict persons to book. The actions of the Imo state governor is unprecedented and capable of causing breach of public peace. We are not standing against his decision to recover public property but it should be done within the ambit of the law as no man is above the law of the land”.
She continued that, “Igbo women will protest naked on the streets to register our disdain for the actions of the state government, which instead of protecting Igbo women leaving in the state is busy molesting and debasing them. The attack on the daughter of the former governor, is not an isolated case as one of our members, Ijeoma Igboamusi, was attacked by members of the Committee and detained in their office in the name of recovering government property. We can’t continue like this”.