Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia state governor, says there are Igbo people in Sambisa forest, a stronghold of the Boko Haram sect in Borno state.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, the governor said the Igbo population in states outside the south-east is higher than that of those based in Igbo land.
He said the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) put the lives of south-easterners at risk but the action of government brought about peace.
“I want to announce that the population of Igbo outside the Igbo enclave is about 11.6 million; you don’t play with the lives of 11.6 million people,” he said.
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“We all have to be careful, the press, the leadership at the state level and at the federal level, everybody. We are still working on stabilising and sustaining the fragile peace that we enjoy now.
“I swore with the Bible to protect lives and property; because I take such oath very seriously, I will continue to protect the lives and property of our brothers and sisters irrespective of where they come from.
“I do not see how, as an Igbo man, boxing myself into a smaller geographic entity will help the cause of the most widely travelled people in Nigeria.
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“There are Igbo in Sambisa (forest); what are you expecting of them if I narrow their geography of coverage.
“But agitation, marginalisation and infrastructure deficiencies, these are issues which are germane and they can be discussed, spoken about and addressed.”
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