An X (formerly Twitter) handle @Lagospedia, a page claiming to be “proclaiming the virtues of Lagos”, is gaining notoriety for publishing hate comments against the Igbo ethnic group and, most recently, asking them to be pushed out of the southwest.

The call violates Section 41, Subsection 1 of the Nigerian Constitution, which states: Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.

Ahead of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled to begin August 1, the page has described the action as an Igbo-led attack on Lagos State.

To its over 41,700 followers, Lagospedia claims to be ‘proclaiming the virtues of Lagos’, but on July 27, it tweeted a call for the Yoruba in Nigeria’s southwest to march in protest against Igbos residing in the region.

“Lagosians and every Southwest stakeholder should prepare for the massive protest of #IgboMustGo on the 20th – 30th of August,” Lagospedia tweeted.

“They have one month from now to leave and relocate their business from all southwest states. We urge all Yorubas living in the southeast to return home.”

The call mirrors the May 30, 1967 speech Odumegwu Ojukwu, a former governor of Nigeria’s eastern region, made to Igbos living outside the region. Ojukwu called for Igbos to return to the region and for non-indigenes to leave. Two months later, a civil war broke out.

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Similarly, when tensions were high in 1983 and Nigerians felt threatened by the presence of foreigners in the country at a time when unemployment figures were high, the Shehu Shagari administration ordered the expulsion of undocumented migrants.

This move affected over one million Ghanaians who were forced to pack their belongings into sturdy made-in-Ghana bags and leave for their country. The bags earned the name ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ after that episode, and the name became synonymous with xenophobia.

The July 27 post was not the only time Lagospedia tweeted hate comments against the tribe. On July 29, the page tweeted this, a picture of dead bodies it claimed were Igbos, and this, a picture taken during the civil war, showing children of Igbo descent stricken with kwashiokor.

On July 29, Lagospedia tweeted another post: “This is another warning to Ibos that Yoruba won’t condone their shenanigans anymore in Yorubaland. I still stand by my conviction, any mistake from them will spell their doom. We’ve had enough and we want them gone. #IgboMustGo #IboMustGo.”

This page claims the Igbo were responsible for the violence that marred the October 2020 #EndSARS protests, and claims the group was spearheading the #EndBadGovernance protest.