A coalition of self-determination groups has alleged that the repatriation of 500,000 Nigerians from Chad, Niger Republic, and Cameroon is a plot by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to flood the South and Middle Belt with foreign terrorists.
The coalition further alleged that the aim is to destabilise such regions.
The coalition of self-determination groups in the South and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria disclosed this in a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Friday.
It alleged plans to bring Fulani terrorists from neighbouring countries to Nigeria to hijack the land and assets of the indigenous people.
The self-determination groups that issued the statement include Freedom from Nigeria (FFN), Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO), Igbo National Council (INC), Middle Belt Patriotic Front (MBPF), National Council of Women Society (NCWS), and United Middle Belt (UMB).
Signed by Professor Wale Adeniran, Deputy Leader of the apex body of Yoruba Self-Determination Group, Ilana Omo Oodua on behalf of the coalition, said the Nigerian government had through a Federal Commissioner at the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Ms. Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, disclosed that 500,000 Nigerians were awaiting repatriation into Nigeria from Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The coalition alleged that the Fulani-controlled Nigerian government is hell-bent on giving the land of the people of the South and Middle Belt to Fulani people through the back door, hence, the various policies earlier initiated by the government to prepare the ground for the invasion of the zones with terror-minded Fulani people from neighbouring countries, who are to masquerade as internally displaced Nigerians.
The self-determination groups alleged that through initiatives or policies such as RUGA, Water Resources Bill, Indigene Bill, and Grazing Route, among others, President Buhari is plotting to give Fulani people coming from Niger, Chad and Cameroon a legal cover to penetrate the South and Middle Belt and push the land-grabbing agenda of the Fulani Nation.
The coalition appealed to the governors of the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria to be vigilant, stressing that henceforth, movements of heavy-duty trucks and buses from the North to the South should be thoroughly screened.
The statement read, “We write on behalf of the indigenous people of south and middle belt of Nigeria to alert our people to a statement credited to a Federal Commissioner at the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Ms. Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, stating that 500,000 Nigerians are awaiting repatriation into Nigeria from Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
“As representatives of our people, we state very expressly that intelligence available before us shows that the claim of Ms Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim is a mere cover-up for the plans of the Fulani-controlled Nigerian Government to invade the south and middle belt of Nigeria with Fulanis from West and Central Africa.
“The agenda of this invasion is nothing but part of the plots of the Fulani-dominated Nigerian Government to subjugate the indigenous people of the south and middle belt, hijack their lands and assets and continue to use their resources to feed and develop the north."
It added, “Having failed to take our ancestral land through Grazing Routes, RUGA, Water Resources Bill, State Indigene Bill, amongst others, the latest plan of the Fulani Nation is to import terror-minded Fulani nationalities from the West and Central Africa into the South and Middle Belt with a mandate to overrun our people and take over their ancestral land through a well-oiled jihad.
“Without much ado, we state with confidence that this agenda, like the previous dubious policies of the government, will fail like the Wall of Jericho. However, our people must be very vigilant and stay alert. We urge our Governors to empower their State Security Networks to ensure that the movement of heavy-duty Trucks and Buses from the North to the South are thoroughly screened going forward.
“We also propose to all Governors in the South and Middle Belt to study and consider implementing in their respective states, Lagos State Residence Law which makes it mandatory for all residents in the state to be enrolled in a biometric and have a residence certificate and number.
“The Lagos State Residence Law also empowers the state government to arrest and deport anyone living or working in the state without a residence number. The Residence Law in Lagos State also empowers Local Government Authorities or Indigenous Chiefs to authenticate the residency form of all applicants before such could be enrolled into the residence portal.”
“Our position, therefore, is that if this system-policy is effectively institutionalized by our Governors, terror-minded Fulani people being planned to be imported into our towns and villages with the sole aim of overrunning our people could be prevented from even coming into our land,” the statement added.