— Alleges External Pressure, Land Cessions for Ranching Projects
By Our Correspondent
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has called on governors of Nigeria’s South-East region to assert their independence and resist what it described as “Sultanate plots” aimed at undermining the security and cultural integrity of Eastern Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Enugu and signed by its Board Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, alongside Obianuju Joy Igboeli and Chidinma Udegbunam, the rights group alleged that several governors of the South-East had been subjected to political and ideological manipulation designed to weaken their resolve to defend their people.
The statement, titled “Unchaining the Chained Governors of Eastern Nigeria Trapped in Sultanate Plots,” accused unnamed northern elements of using threats and inducements to compromise the territorial and cultural autonomy of the region.
“The heart of Intersociety is gladdened that the governors of the eleven states of Eastern Nigeria—particularly the South-East—have been unchained from the hands of Sultanate plotters,” the group stated, listing governors Peter Mbah (Enugu), Charles Soludo (Anambra), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Alex Otti (Abia) among those it claimed had been “freed from the grip of manipulation.”
According to the organization, the affected governors, who are professing Christians, had allegedly been pressured to compromise the safety and property rights of their citizens in exchange for political protection and tenure stability.
Intersociety maintained that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution grants each governor more than 60 executive powers—second only to the President—and that such powers should be exercised independently in the interest of their people.
“Our statistical reports indicate that many of these governors are too afraid to assert their constitutional powers. They should emulate the courage once displayed by former governors Nyesom Wike, Ayo Fayose, and Peter Obi,” the group said.
The group further cited the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and neutrality under Sections 10 and 38, as well as international conventions such as Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 8 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
Intersociety also alleged that parts of forests and farmlands in several South-East states had been secretly ceded for ranching purposes under federal government initiatives.
The group claimed that these arrangements were being presented as “livestock enhancement projects” but were, in reality, intended to facilitate territorial occupation by armed groups.
Quoting government data, the organization said that out of Nigeria’s 11,129 mapped forests, “no fewer than 1,000 are presently occupied by jihadist elements across the South-East and South-South regions.
“We have documented how communal lands in Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia, and Anambra were annexed and transferred to the Federal Government under the guise of cattle ranching,” the statement alleged.
The group also referenced a public admission by the Anambra State Government that it had been approached for land to establish cattle ranches, with an alleged financial offer of N60 billion per state. It recalled that former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom had once claimed he was offered N75 billion to repeal his state’s anti-open grazing law
Intersociety cautioned that continued acquiescence to such arrangements could place some governors and Christian leaders on what it described as the “international list of enablers of Christian persecution and genocide in Nigeria.”
The group accused some Christian clerics and associations of complicity, except for the current leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). It urged the governors to “make hay while the sun shines” by reversing all communal land cessions and returning them to their indigenous owners.
The organization concluded by reaffirming its commitment to documenting and exposing what it termed the “gradual Islamization and cultural subjugation” of Nigeria’s Christian-majority regions.
