₦airaland Forum

By Wisdom Chude

What I witnessed recently in Ibadan raises a serious concern about the expression of Igbo-phobia within Nigeria’s legal and professional spaces.

I visited a friend’s shop and discovered that he was absent. I was informed that he had received a call that the roof of his residential apartment was being removed and that some of the tenants’ properties were allegedly being taken away by thugs engaged by the landlord and led by an Igbo man who claimed to be acting on the landlord’s behalf.

I gathered some of the tenants and proceeded to Iyanganku Police Station. Police officers were subsequently sent to bring in the man allegedly engaged by the landlord.

While we were at the station, one of the tenants received a telephone call from the lawyer managing the property. I took the phone and introduced myself as a fellow lawyer. I attempted to engage him professionally, as one lawyer speaking to another.

His response, however, was striking.

He said, in substance:

“How can an Igbo person from the South-East be dictating to me as a Yoruba man what to do?”

That statement immediately changed the character of the encounter.

The matter was no longer simply a disagreement over property. The statement explicitly introduced Igbo and Yoruba identity into a dispute that should ordinarily be addressed through law and professional conduct.

I subsequently identified the lawyer as Adeyinka Adeyemi Ibrahim, who, according to the account, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2008.

Igbo-phobia in a Legal Setting

The incident raises questions about the place of tribal prejudice within Nigeria’s legal profession.

A lawyer should be able to distinguish between a legal dispute and ethnic identity. Whether a person is Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Edo, Tiv or from any other ethnic group should have no bearing on how a legal matter is handled.

Yet this incident reflects a wider Nigerian reality: Igbo-phobia exists.

For many Igbo Nigerians living outside the South-East, citizenship can sometimes be treated as though it has geographical limitations. An Igbo person living in Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja or elsewhere in Nigeria may be made to feel like an outsider despite possessing the same Nigerian citizenship as every other Nigerian.

The particular concern in this case is that such an attitude allegedly emerged within a professional setting where equality before the law and professional conduct should be fundamental.

A property dispute is a legal matter.

If there is a disagreement between landlords and tenants, there are lawful procedures for resolving it. Threats, intimidation, the alleged use of thugs and appeals to ethnic identity have no place in the administration of justice.

The law should never become a vehicle through which tribal identity determines who has authority, who deserves to be heard or whose position carries weight.

The Conduct of the Police

It is equally important to record the professional conduct of the officers who handled the matter.

The DCO1 and DPO of Iyanganku Police Station are specifically acknowledged for their professionalism and integrity in handling the situation.

Their conduct demonstrates that institutional responsibility can be exercised without allowing ethnic identity to determine how a dispute is handled.

A Question for the Legal Profession

The legal profession must confront the implications of tribal prejudice when it appears within its own ranks.

Lawyers operate within a system founded on law, rights, due process and equality. Ethnic identity should have no place in determining the professional treatment of another Nigerian.

An Igbo Nigerian does not become less Nigerian because he lives in Ibadan.

A Yoruba Nigerian does not become less Nigerian because he lives in Enugu.

The same principle applies to every Nigerian, regardless of ethnic origin or place of residence.

The issue in this case is therefore not the identity of the lawyer as a Yoruba person. It is the alleged invocation of Yoruba identity to assert authority over, or diminish the standing of, another Nigerian specifically because that person is Igbo.

That is the conduct that constitutes the Igbo-phobic dimension of this incident.

Justice Must Not Have a Tribe

The law belongs to every Nigerian.

A legal dispute should be determined by facts, evidence, procedure and applicable law—not by whether one party is Igbo and another is Yoruba.

The legal profession must never become a platform through which ethnic prejudice is expressed or legitimized.

An Igbo Nigerian should be able to live, work, own property and seek justice in Ibadan without being treated as an outsider.

A Yoruba Nigerian should have the same rights in Enugu.

Nigeria’s ethnic diversity cannot become a basis for determining who deserves to be heard, respected or protected by the law.

The law should never ask whether you are Igbo or Yoruba before it gives you justice.

Justice must be based on the law—not tribe.

SOURCE: https://www.igbophobia.org/incidents/cmsso2uot000404icfmsm4v98

This one hate them, that one dislike them, those one despite them, abeg who do you love?

IGBOPHOBIA1:
By Wisdom Chude

What I witnessed recently in Ibadan raises a serious concern about the expression of Igbo-phobia within Nigeria’s legal and professional spaces.

I visited a friend’s shop and discovered that he was absent. I was informed that he had received a call that the roof of his residential apartment was being removed and that some of the tenants’ properties were allegedly being taken away by thugs engaged by the landlord and led by an Igbo man who claimed to be acting on the landlord’s behalf.

I gathered some of the tenants and proceeded to Iyanganku Police Station. Police officers were subsequently sent to bring in the man allegedly engaged by the landlord.

While we were at the station, one of the tenants received a telephone call from the lawyer managing the property. I took the phone and introduced myself as a fellow lawyer. I attempted to engage him professionally, as one lawyer speaking to another.

His response, however, was striking.

He said, in substance:

“How can an Igbo person from the South-East be dictating to me as a Yoruba man what to do?”

That statement immediately changed the character of the encounter.

The matter was no longer simply a disagreement over property. The statement explicitly introduced Igbo and Yoruba identity into a dispute that should ordinarily be addressed through law and professional conduct.

I subsequently identified the lawyer as Adeyinka Adeyemi Ibrahim, who, according to the account, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2008.

Igbo-phobia in a Legal Setting

The incident raises questions about the place of tribal prejudice within Nigeria’s legal profession.

A lawyer should be able to distinguish between a legal dispute and ethnic identity. Whether a person is Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Edo, Tiv or from any other ethnic group should have no bearing on how a legal matter is handled.

Yet this incident reflects a wider Nigerian reality: Igbo-phobia exists.

For many Igbo Nigerians living outside the South-East, citizenship can sometimes be treated as though it has geographical limitations. An Igbo person living in Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja or elsewhere in Nigeria may be made to feel like an outsider despite possessing the same Nigerian citizenship as every other Nigerian.

The particular concern in this case is that such an attitude allegedly emerged within a professional setting where equality before the law and professional conduct should be fundamental.

A property dispute is a legal matter.

If there is a disagreement between landlords and tenants, there are lawful procedures for resolving it. Threats, intimidation, the alleged use of thugs and appeals to ethnic identity have no place in the administration of justice.

The law should never become a vehicle through which tribal identity determines who has authority, who deserves to be heard or whose position carries weight.

The Conduct of the Police

It is equally important to record the professional conduct of the officers who handled the matter.

The DCO1 and DPO of Iyanganku Police Station are specifically acknowledged for their professionalism and integrity in handling the situation.

Their conduct demonstrates that institutional responsibility can be exercised without allowing ethnic identity to determine how a dispute is handled.

A Question for the Legal Profession

The legal profession must confront the implications of tribal prejudice when it appears within its own ranks.

Lawyers operate within a system founded on law, rights, due process and equality. Ethnic identity should have no place in determining the professional treatment of another Nigerian.

An Igbo Nigerian does not become less Nigerian because he lives in Ibadan.

A Yoruba Nigerian does not become less Nigerian because he lives in Enugu.

The same principle applies to every Nigerian, regardless of ethnic origin or place of residence.

The issue in this case is therefore not the identity of the lawyer as a Yoruba person. It is the alleged invocation of Yoruba identity to assert authority over, or diminish the standing of, another Nigerian specifically because that person is Igbo.

That is the conduct that constitutes the Igbo-phobic dimension of this incident.

Justice Must Not Have a Tribe

The law belongs to every Nigerian.

A legal dispute should be determined by facts, evidence, procedure and applicable law—not by whether one party is Igbo and another is Yoruba.

The legal profession must never become a platform through which ethnic prejudice is expressed or legitimized.

An Igbo Nigerian should be able to live, work, own property and seek justice in Ibadan without being treated as an outsider.

A Yoruba Nigerian should have the same rights in Enugu.

Nigeria’s ethnic diversity cannot become a basis for determining who deserves to be heard, respected or protected by the law.

The law should never ask whether you are Igbo or Yoruba before it gives you justice.

Justice must be based on the law—not tribe.

SOURCE: https://www.igbophobia.org/incidents/cmsso2uot000404icfmsm4v98

They always see a phobia when they are not in control but once they have control its reckless rollercoaster ☹️

After demarketing Ibadan on social media, what is an Igbo man going there to look for again?

Always feel insecured.

This is trash.
Victim syndrome. They always believed that other people hate them.

Arrant nonsense as usual


So one isolated case involving a non legal practitioner is now tantamount to Ibos being selectively discriminated by the entire Nigerian legal system?

Is the landlord a lawyer?

Is the landlord a member of the bench ?

Is the landlord a presiding judge over the dispute in question?

So why use his outburst as evidence that the entire Nigerian legal system is skewed against Ibo civilians and lawyers ?

One of their mods even hid my first comments. Lol

Nobody will tell a blind man it's raining as it's a pure waste of time

The writer will never tell the world what he said to the man over the phone before he replied in a such manner. Always hiding their own fault.

You people are ALWAYS THE VICTIM!

But what stop the Igbos from developing their region,I wonder by every complain,Nigeria is not a country,and how many Yoruba lawyers are practicing in igboland,so rest,we need regional supreme court and vice versa,it is only in akwa ibom you see politicians falling over each other for Yoruba lawyers on electoral matters.

helinues:
This one hate them, that one dislike them, those one despite them, abeg who do you love?

You are a bigot. How old are you to be this bitter towards Igbos?

JuicyEarth:
You are a bigot. How old are you to be this bitter towards Igbos?

I must be a bigot for expressing myself. The intolerant set of people

This story, as usual, came from the alternate reality that you lot live in. I've heard of mass hysteria before. I'm observing mass schizophrenia in you lot.

This is a perfectly reasonable and insightful observation about a particular argument in the legal sphere.

Cyberterror:
After demarketing Ibadan on social media, what is an Igbo man going there to look for again?

Is ibadan in Czech Republic ?

If they demarket your village, can't you do the same to their family house ?

Or Nigeria is no longer practicing one Nigeria again ?

So because an igbo man is in ibadan, he can't question or ask for clarification if he feels the law is misinterpreted ?

If you don't see igbos as Nigerians, help them to leave Nigeria so that yorubas and hausas and fulanis and everyone will enjoy the goodness of Nigeria in peace...

Go back to ur state if u can't abide by our law
Liberalism is wat is affecting we Yoruba an average ibo man feel is more wiser Dan any other ethnicity. If u travel to east dat when u will understand one Nigeria is only applied in SW& Northern part in dere state dey call u any name .

Hope the message is now clear based on the majority of the commenters on this thread

Our land, our rules

helinues:
Hope the message is now clear based on the majority of the commenters on this thread

Our land, our rules

You used your various BOT accounts to drop different comments of the same sentiment. Who are you deceiving? You are funny! You must have no job.

Babatee0147:
Go back to ur state if u can't abide by our law
Liberalism is wat is affecting we Yoruba an average ibo man feel is more wiser Dan any other ethnicity. If u travel to east dat when u will understand one Nigeria is only applied in SW& Northern part in dere state dey call u any name .

Yes, you are the wisest Yoruba person on nairaland, You should be Igboho's special adviser.

TokoEkambi:
This story, as usual, came from the alternate reality that you lot live in. I've heard of mass hysteria before. I'm observing mass schizophrenia in you lot.

This is the reality of Nigeria.

Kdon2:
They always see a phobia when they are not in control but once they have control its reckless rollercoaster ☹️

What control? That is the problem with you lots. Always afraid of being controlled and acting out of paranoia. The Igbos are not interested in controlling you. What is there to gain from controlling a person like you? Votes? What exactly? Maybe look upwards to the Sardauna that truly controls your destiny.

helinues:
This one hate them, that one dislike them, those one despite them, abeg who do you love?

Your love for Igbos is massive

Cyberterror:
After demarketing Ibadan on social media, what is an Igbo man going there to look for again?

Demarket to whom? Which customer base?

IGBOPHOBIA1:


You used your various BOT accounts to drop different comments of the same sentiment. Who are you deceiving? You are funny! You must have no job.

Sorry I can never stoop so low to such level. I only have one moniker on this forum.

We are not in the same level hence can't reason the same

IGBOPHOBIA1:
Your love for Igbos is massive

I hate no one but if you bring hate, we shall reciprocate

How can a landlord removes the roof of a tenant? Who owns the property? Who will bare the cost? Who will be at lost? What is the reason for removing the roof? Are all the tenants also Igbo?

What is really wrong with some of you people on this platform? Lies upon lies just to bring down other people?

Next time you write another lie, read it again and ask yourself if it's going to sell. This one here, it not selling at all except for the gullible like you though.