BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
Residents of Enugu metropolis and its environs, Monday defied sit-at-home ban by the State government.
Unlike in the previous Mondays when people came out in trickles for businesses, it was a total lockdown as major streets in Enugu State Capital were like ghost yard in greater part of the morning.
It was observed on Monday that pupils/students were not on the road going to school while few traders came out later in the day to sell their wares. Banks and financial institutions did not open for normal business apparently for fear of attack by hoodlums.
However, there was security presence in strategic places in the city to maintain law and order but no molestation of any kind.
Reports from other parts of the state including Nsukka, Agbani and Oji-River indicated that people did not obey the government directive on the sit-at-home as even schools and markets were shut down.
Some of the Enugu residents interviewed said the approach of the state government to the sit-at-home palavar heightened tension in the state as people were afraid of the unknown gunmen.
Indeed, there were mixed reactions as to the cancellation of Mondays’ sit-at-home by the state government.
While the like of ArchBishop Emmanuel Chukwuma of Anglican Communion, Enugu and Bishop Geoffrey Onah of Nsukka Catholic Diocese, lauded Governor Peter Mbah for his bold initiative to end the sit-at-home, some residents who did not want their names in print said although they are not happy with sit-at-home which is crippling the southeast economy, the Enugu government would not have made the ban public.
“The governor would have just quietly encouraged civil servants to begin work on Mondays. Not all though but those who get liver and if they do start, the ones that do not have liver go gradually join”.
They said that the threat by the factional spokesman of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Simon Ekpa shared in the social media fuelled the fear which the people already had.
Meanwhile, the main group of IPOB has thrown its weight behind the end to Monday sit-at-home as directed by Governor Mbah.
In a statement on Monday by the Media/Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, however cautioned against the use of coercion to stop the Mondays’ sit-at-home.
Parts of the statement read:
“After our leadership initiated the Monday sit-at-home order to demand for the release of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently being illegally detained at DSS dungeon, directed IPOB leadership to stop the sit-at-home to avoid criminals capitalizing on that to harm our people.
“Though some Biafrans continued with Monday sit-at-home voluntarily, as our leader predicted, after the suspension order, some criminals and infiltrators hijacked it and started committing crimes and enforcing non-existing Monday sit-at-home.
“It is obvious that Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mba should be made aware that IPOB has already suspended Monday sit-at-home. For him to publicly associate IPOB with Monday sit-at-home is obnoxious.
“If indeed Mr. Governor Mba wants to return normalcy on Mondays he will have the support of IPOB because the criminals enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home are criminals.
“Someone wants to penalize our people, anybody enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home order is not helping IPOB and our leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu. Every member of IPOB and Biafrans should be coming out on Mondays for their business.
“However, the governor must know that Nigeria Police knows the criminals and the hideout of the criminals who enforce sit-at-home in some communities and claimed to be IPOB but are not.
The Nigeria Security Agents can not stop the enforcers of sit-at-home because the government is the sponsor of those criminals.
“The agent provocateurs and their leader in Europe are behind these criminalities going on in the southeast with the support of the government just to blackmail IPOB.
“We are calling on Dr Mba never allow a single person die because of this exercise because we don’t know anything about it.
Dr. Peter Mba must not invite anarchy by inviting Police and Army personnel who are behind the criminals enforcing the non-existent Monday sit-at-home. That will be disastrous.
“Monday sit-at-home order is slowly whining down. Calling on the Nigeria compromised Security Agents to stop it wouldn’t work. Instead, they will further aggravate the situation.
“Calling on the Nigeria murderous security agents to stop Monday sit-at- home is a call that will be used as a license to target and kill IPOB members and innocent Biafra citizens.
“Dr. Peter Mba should be careful not to be used by enemies to target and attack IPOB members and ESN operatives. IPOB is not part of the problem but part of the solution to the peace and security of our land.
“Enugu State Governor should encourage our people to go about their businesses on Mondays but never order murderous security to force people out. The Monday sit-at-home at home is already whining down and shouldn’t be used to allow any military or police to coerce our people.
“Dr. Peter Mba, please never make the same mistake, Prof. Soludo made by using Nigeria compromised Security to stop Monday sit-at-home .
“Any attempt to use murderous Fulani controlled security to stop the sit-at-home is an indirect way of killing our people. Such moves will always be counter productive.
“We support him to stop the Monday sit-at-home, and we have stopped the sit-at-home. Such measures failed in Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra, and it will fail in Enugu. Allow the Monday sit-at-home to die off naturally by engaging our people.
“Meanwhile, IPOB is on standby to assist on the best approach to end Monday sit-at-home, where it still exists so that it won’t escalate the tensed security situation. If you use force on our people, you will fail.
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