EDITORIAL: The Igbo Mockery of Yoruba Terror Attacks – A Rebuttal

This media house has observed with disgust the conduct of certain Igbo individuals on social media following the recent terrorist attacks on Oriire community in Oyo State, where 46 pupils and teachers were abducted and a teacher, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded. While Yoruba families mourn and communities bury their dead, some Igbos have chosen to mock, jeer, and celebrate the tragedy. Posts have surfaced laughing at the victims, taunting the Yoruba people, and dismissing the attacks as deserved. Screenshots exist. The evidence is undeniable. This is not the work of a few rogue accounts. This is a pattern of ethnic malice dressed in the garb of online commentary.

The double standard on display is staggering and unacceptable. If Yorubas mocked an attack on the South-East, the entire country would be in uproar. International organisations would condemn. Civil society would erupt. The same Igbos laughing today would be the first to scream tribalist. The same social media platforms would trend with outrage. But because the victims are Yoruba, the mockery is met with silence. Because it is Yoruba blood on the floor, the laughter is allowed. This is not equality. This is ethnic hypocrisy institutionalised by public indifference.

Igbo leaders are complicit in this outrage. Not one governor. Not one senator. Not one traditional ruler. Not one prominent Igbo voice has come forward to condemn the mockery. Their silence is not neutrality. It is endorsement. Their quiet is not wisdom. It is consent. When leaders refuse to speak against the mockery of dead Yoruba children, they send a clear message to their people: this behaviour is acceptable. That message has been received loud and clear.

The ingratitude is even more infuriating. Yoruba land has never chased Igbos away. Yoruba markets host Igbo traders. Yoruba cities shelter Igbo families. Yoruba votes have sent Igbo candidates to office. Yoruba people did not build walls. Yoruba people did not burn shops. Yoruba people did not scream “go back to your land.” And this is the reward? Mockery while we bury our dead? Laughter while our children rot in captivity? Taunts while our teacher lies beheaded? This is the thanks we get for decades of accommodation.

Let this be recorded. Yorubas will not forget. When next the South-East cries for solidarity, we will remember this moment. When next an Igbo leader speaks of one Nigeria, we will recall the laughter. When next the conversation turns to national unity, we will bring receipts. The mockery does not weaken us. It exposes you. It reveals who truly stands with us and who celebrates our pain. It strips away the pretence of brotherhood and leaves only the raw truth of ethnic resentment.

This media house does not seek reconciliation with those who celebrate our pain. We do not seek caution from those who mock our dead. We do not seek apologies that will not come. We simply state the truth: we have seen you. We have noted you. We will act accordingly. The next time an Igbo man lectures Yorubas about unity, we will remind him of this moment. The next time an Igbo leader asks for Yoruba votes, we will show him the screenshots. This is not a threat. This is a promise.