Controversy has continued to trail the endorsement of politicians by Igbo
leaders in Lagos State, as a faction has called on security agencies
to investigate the said Igbo leaders’ activities with a view to checking
them.
In a statement signed by the Co-ordinator of Igbo Leaders in Lagos, Chief
Nwike Ezeachi, the group said that “a number of discredited Igbo men whose
criminal records are well known have been masquerading as leaders with
different appellations.”
It said these set of people use the ongoing electioneering campaign to
embark on extortion, using the umbrella of Igbo leaders as a platform to
achieve their peculiarly interest.
The statement read in part; “These unscrupulous elements have been
extorting huge sums of money from politicians in the state desperate to
win elections. Unfortunately, these politicians do not know their criminal
records. We are particularly concerned with one of them (name withheld)
who claims to be a leader in the Ikeja area of the state.
“This crook that was said to be at large is the same red cap chief
parading himself today in Ikeja as a leader and he even had the effrontery
to openly publicize that he and his non-existent members have declared
support for top politicians in on of the major political parties.
“We are, therefore, using this opportunity to not only call on security
agents especially operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) to take immediate steps to arrest this suspect but to
advise these politicians clamouring for his support to beware of dealing
with members of a criminal and vicious gang that claim to be Igbo leaders
in Lagos State,” Ezeachi stated.