Victor Ezeja
Residents of South East states have once again been forced to stay at home in protest of the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, but this time conflicting orders coming from different factions of the group.
Unlike the regular Monday sit-at-home, this time is a four-day lockdown declared by the proscribed group who appeared to be having different dates for the order.
An audio clip circulating on social media since weekend, apparently from one of the factions, has the voice of a man who said the sit-at-home will last from Tuesday 17th to Friday 20th May. The man warned the people not to come out on those days to avoid getting killed. This is aside the normal one on Mondays.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis is contrary to the three-day lockdown (Monday to Wednesday) announced through social media by Simon Ekpa who is now leading one of the factions. One of his messages on Twitter said, “Remember the historic three days’ sit-at-home in Biafraland for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and demand for Biafra. Biafraland will be under lock and key on 16th, 17th and 18th of May, 2022.”
Emma Powerful had in a statement on Saturday declared that any sit-at-home order outside days the faction declared, did not come from them and should not be obeyed.
Kanu is billed to appear in court on Wednesday, May 18, for continuation of the trial as stated last week by his lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejimofor.
The Monday sit-at-home was initiated by the separatist group last year in protest of the arrest and detention of Kanu in Abuja, but was later suspended through a statement by Emma Power, spokesperson of IPOB who declared that it will only be obeyed on the days that Kanu will appear in court.
However, a faction of the group has continued to enforce the order making people to obey in fear as some motorists, and commuters who came out on Mondays and other days declared as lockdown have been attacked by gunmen.
READ ALSO: Repeated Sit-at-home Orders, Against Igbo Interest
Recently, a vehicle loading very early Monday morning at a park near Ogbete market, Enugu, was attacked by gunmen who killed one person, injured some people said to be on transit, and set the sienna car ablaze.
Prime Business Africa monitored some areas in the Enugu on Tuesday and discovered that many shops were locked and roads deserted as people remained at home in obedience to the order.
According to one of the residents in Enugu, Stanley Odera who spoke to Prime Business Africa, the conflicting orders announced by different factions claiming to be IPOB is putting people in the region into deep confusion regarding ensuring their personal safety as they could come out on days declared by any of the factions and get hurt.
This according him, is coupled with the negative impact of the long stay at home on their economic life especially the ones who survive by what they earn on daily basis.
According to some residents of Anambra, the order was largely obeyed on Monday and Tuesday as schools and markets never opened.
Similar thing happened in Imo and Abia.
Troops of the Nigerian Army on Monday reportedly had a gun duel with a group of gunmen which the Army described as members of the Eastern Security Network in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.
According to a statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, four of the gunmen were nuetralized, while the rest escaped. The troops recovered some weapons abandoned by the criminals.
“The vigilant troops engaged the criminals and neutralized four of them, while others succumbed to the superior firepower of the troops and escaped from the scene.
“Items recovered from the encounter, include one pump action shot gun, 10 live cartridges, one Hilux truck, which was reported, snatched at gunpoint, yesterday by the irredentists, mobile handsets and charms,” Nwachukwu stated, urging members of the public to provide credible information about movement of criminal elements within their areas to security forces.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
