Human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has expressed deep concern over what he described as the desecration of Ala-Igbo — the Igbo homeland by her own sons who have turned their weapons against their people.
In a reflective statement titled “Saturday Musing: Ala-Igbo Di Ile; When the Earth Remembers,” issued on Saturday, Ejiofor lamented the rapid erosion of peace, morality, and communal life across the Southeast.
He painted a grim picture of once-vibrant towns now deserted, with markets empty, schools closed, and communities living in fear of criminals masquerading as freedom fighters.
“The sacred soil that once bore the footprints of industrious traders, farmers, and craftsmen is now stained with the blood of the innocent — not by foreign invaders but by homegrown monsters who have chosen violence over communal harmony,” Ejiofor said.
The lawyer condemned the rising wave of kidnapping, rape, and killings ravaging the region, describing them as a betrayal of Igbo cultural and spiritual values.
“These unscrupulous elements have turned our ancestral forests into hideouts of terror — shrines where death is routinely pronounced upon fellow Igbos. It is a desecration of the very womb that birthed them,” he stated.
Call for restoration of peace
Ejiofor’s remarks come amid worsening insecurity in the Southeast, where criminal gangs continue to unleash terror under the guise of agitation for freedom.
He called for urgent collective reflection and decisive action to restore peace, dignity, and rule of law across Ala-Igbo.
Expounding on the theme of his reflection, Ejiofor likened the current state of the Southeast to a spiritual reckoning — the Earth remembering the wrongs of its children.
“There comes a time when the soil, long patient under the burden of human trespass, begins to whisper its own verdict.
“That time has again arrived in Ala-Igbo — the ancient land of our fathers — now trembling under the weight of both memory and misdeed,” he wrote.
In Igbo cosmology, he noted, Ala (the Earth) is more than soil but represents conscience, morality, and divine justice. “When her patience runs out, the consequences are inevitable.
“Ala na-echeta — the Earth remembers. She gives men long ropes for repentance, but never infinite ones. And when the rope snaps, it is not by the wrath of men but by the weight of their own sins.”
The collapse of moral order
Ejiofor lamented that many of those terrorizing communities in the name of liberation are simply exploiting the chaos for personal gain.
He cited the case of a notorious figure known as “Gentle Yahoo,” who once paraded himself as a fearless defender of the people but was later captured by security operatives.
“He mistook notoriety for invincibility, bloodlust for bravery, and imagined himself untouchable by both man and spirit.
“But even the gods have their sense of humour. The masquerade of impunity always dances most vigorously at dusk — just before it collapses,” he remarked.
The IPOB lead counsel argued that the tragedy afflicting the Southeast today mirrors the region’s past failures to learn from history.
“From the pogroms of 1966 to the devastation of the Biafran War and the present-day anarchy, he said, the pattern remains the same — arrogance, bloodshed, and eventual downfall.
“We never seem to learn that no man conquers the land that birthed him,” he wrote.
A call to conscience
He faulted those who justify their violence in the name of “freedom,” stressing that no genuine liberation can emerge from the ashes of fratricide.
“Some of these so-called warriors speak of freedom with mouths still dripping with the blood of their neighbours.
“They seek redemption through ruin and call it revolution,” he said.
The Human Rights Lawyer warned that the land itself keeps record of every injustice — every widow made, every orphan created, every innocent life wasted.
“Ala cannot be deceived by rhetoric or bribed by fear. She mourns when we destroy our brothers, and when her silence finally breaks, her judgment is both poetic and absolute.”
The path to renewal
In his closing reflection, Ejiofor reaffirmed his faith in the resilience of Ala-Igbo, insisting that though her justice may tarry, it never dies.
“Ala-Igbo di ile — the Earth of the Igbo endures. She will outlive false prophets, tyrants, kidnappers, and pretenders. Her justice may sleep, but it never dies.”
He called for moral rebirth and a return to truth, integrity, and compassion as the foundation for rebuilding Igboland.
“To rebuild Ala-Igbo, we must first cleanse our hearts. No saviour armed with deceit will redeem us.
“The restoration of justice begins not in guns or propaganda but in conscience.
“When truth becomes our altar and peace our offering, the Earth herself, weary but waiting, will rejoice again,” Ejiofor concluded.
