Also forwarded in the petition by Okoye to the Information and Evidence Unit, Office of the Prosecutor, at The Hague under Article15 of the Rome Statute, is the recorded video footage showing a visibly angry Oba Akiolu, making the unconcealed venomous threats with death in the lagoon to Igbos on Sunday, if they failed to vote for Ambode.
Okoye urged the Ndigbo in Lagos to be law abiding while they await the international warrant of arrest to be issued against the monarch.
Similarly, in a veiled reference to the monarch’s hate speech, the Director of Department of State Service (DSS) has warned against unguarded statements that could inflame ethnic sentiments in the country.
Meanwhile, the Igbo cultural group, Aka Ikenga, in a press statement, "condemns in its entirety the statement credited to the highly respected Oba of Lagos threatening all Ndigbo's resident in Lagos to vote for only a particular candidate in the governorship and state assembly elections.
"It is mind-boggling that Ndigbo are threatened with a consequence if they disobey. It is a known fact that we seek a free and fair election. At what point were Yoruba and Hausa Fulani people threatened for their votes?"
According to the group's president, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, "We have waited for a retraction of this statement in vain but we have stated it repeatedly that people should vote according to their conscience without any fear or favour.
"Freedom of choice is an inherent right and nobody can take it away from Ndigbo. For the avoidance of doubt, threat to one Igbo man is a threat to us all. We shall do our civic duty as directed by INEC and the security agencies to whom we have copied this press release."
But in a bid to douse the growing tension, the Eze Ndigbo of Lagos, Chief Christian Nwachukwu, who addressed a news conference in FESTAC Town on behalf of the council, called on all Igbo indigenes to turn out massively to vote for the APC candidate Ambode in Saturday’s election.
Nwachukwu thereby urged the Igbo community in the state to vote for him to allow for continuity and excellence, which the state’s former governor, Bola Tinubu, had started and the incumbent governor, Fashola, had been able to build on in the last 16 years.
He said: “We endorse Ambode as governor of Lagos State. Our being here is to assure our sons and daughters and ask them to vote for Ambode massively. You have been doing it since 1999 and this time will not be an exception. We have maintained this relationship for many years and we must ensure that it continues.
“The monarch simply wants the Igbos to show their love and it is only by voting for Ambode that we can show that love and have hope. A vote against Ambode is a wasted vote. Let us join hands together and ensure that Ambode wins.”
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