…Laments staggering records of kidnappings under Tinubu Govt
…Demands release of Nnamdi Kanu
By EDITOR
The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has raised the alarm over the country’s rapid descent into structural lawlessness, revealing that Nigeria recorded a staggering record of kidnappings and illicit payments as ransoms in just one year.
Citing data attributed to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the distraught youths questioned whether the country’s macroeconomic foundation has been completely overtaken by criminal enterprises.
The scathing national security assessment was the centerpiece of an emergency stakeholder meeting held on Wednesday in Enugu State, the capital of the Eastern heartland.
The session quickly transformed into a political mutiny as the youth leaders passed a sweeping vote of no confidence on the President-General of the apex body, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, over his alleged uninspiring, medieval, and unconstitutional leadership style.
In a powerful joint communiqué released after their convention, the Igbo youth leaders painted a bleak picture of the country’s security architecture under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, warning that the nation is teetering on the edge of a total collapse.
“This mind-blowing data as quoted by the National Bureau of Statistics is a stark reality that indeed our nation is on the precipice,” the apex youth body declared. “We beg to ask the fundamental question today: Are we now running a ransom economy in Nigeria?”
To combat the unchecked wave of violence, the coalition — jointly signed by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Acting National Youth Leader, Wenceslaus Ogbonnia; Secretary of the Igbo Youth Leaders Stakeholders, Anyaene Chukwuma; and the National Secretary of the youth wing, Emmanuel Mbadiugha — issued a strict 14-day ultimatum to the presidency.
The youths requested an immediate audience with President Tinubu within 14 working days to present a comprehensive, community-vetted security blueprint. They maintained that the immediate implementation of their framework remains the only viable strategy to restore peace, physical security, and overall commercial development to AlaIgbo (the Igbo homeland).
Reading the official declaration from the meeting, the National Publicity Secretary of the youth wing, Chika Art Adiele, noted that fixing the security crisis in the South-East is tied directly to the political resolution of self-determination agitations.
The group made a fresh, direct appeal to the Federal Government to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
“We are urgently appealing to President Bola Tinubu to tamper justice with mercy on this sensitive matter,” Adiele stated. “The immediate and unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from prison would go a long way in proving to critics and naysayers that indeed the President is a completely detribalized leader who is ready to heal the wounds of the nation.”
Turning their sights inward, the youth wing declared total war on the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, who took over the reins of the apex organization in January 2025.
They accused the former Rivers State Senator of running a dysfunctional administration that has systematically sidelined the youth and women wings, rendering the three core statutory organs of the apex body entirely paralyzed since his inauguration.
The youths expressed anger that Mbata, who rose to the peak of Igbo leadership because the youth wing fought for a constitutionally driven rotational presidency favoring Rivers State, has chosen to run the organization arbitrarily without a constitution.
“There are three distinct constitutional organs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo: the Youth Wing, the Women Wing, and the Main Body. We have made a series of exhausting efforts to interact with the President-General to enable him to understand our developmental programmes, but he has consistently and arrogantly refused to grant us an audience,” the youths stated.
“There has not been a single statutory meeting to know what the younger generation is facing in Nigeria. This is a complete and dangerous departure from former leaderships that always embraced and protected Igbo youths. We are saying a loud ‘No’ to mediocre leadership and anything that will erode the collective confidence of Ndigbo in Nigeria.”
Taking matters into their own hands, the youths declared that the era of administrative vacuum is over, announcing June 15, 2026, as the official date for the next National Executive Committee (NEC) elections of the Youth Wing. They insisted that following historical zoning principles, it is now the turn of Enugu State to produce the next National Youth Leadership of the organization.
Amidst the heavy criticisms leveled against the national leadership, the Ohanaeze youths showered praises on the Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, for his infrastructural overhauls.
The group commended Mbah’s “disruptive and innovative development” approach, noting that his administration has successfully restored the pride of the historic regional capital, particularly through the ongoing construction and state-of-the-art equipping of over 100 smart schools across the state’s rural communities.
When the national secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo was reached out to get a formal reaction from Senator John Azuta-Mbata regarding the vote of no confidence and accusations of autocracy, the leadership dodged the inquiries.
The main body’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, explicitly refused to address the heavy allegations raised by the youths.
“I want to see the publication first before granting any interview on the matter,” Chukwu said.
…Source: SaharaReporters