Socio-cultural groups in Southeast Nigeria, the World Igbo Youth Council (WIYC), Igbo Youth Consultative Forum (IYCF) and Igbo Student Congress (ISC), have appealed to all the parties causing mayhem and insecurity in Imo State and Igbo land as a whole to stop wasting innocent blood.

The groups in a joint statement made available to UGAMATV on Wednesday, at the end of the Igbo Youth Security Summit at Owerri, called on Imo State Governor and state governments and all stakeholders in Igbo land to take decisive step to end the killings in Imo State and Igbo land in general.

The Igbo organizations warned killer herdsmen to flee Igbo land in their own interest and noted that foreigners now hide under IPOB, ESN and unknown gunmen to create insecurity in Igbo land, which they rated as the most peaceful part of Nigeria.

They further called on Ndigbo to be conscious of their security especially at this point in time, warning against harassment and humiliation of people at checkpoints in Igbo land.

According to the statement which partly stated, “Ndigbo respect lives and properties. We do not waste blood and it’s outsiders that are doing this.

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“We call for the arrest of the soldiers that killed Mr Unachukwu, a German-based Igbo businessman and the ones that burnt alive the PA to the IPOB lawyer in a grisly manner. The soldiers must not go free as we are not at war.

“The international community must intervene in the killings. The federal government must fish out the killer soldiers. We can no longer allow these waste of innocent blood.

“Those who have no respect for lives must leave us alone and must stop radicalising our youths. Igbos are peaceful people but we are not cowards, the groups stated. We can defend ourselves and our land.”