From Maurice Okafor,Enugu.
Originally, the ‘sit-at home’strategy initiated by the Indigeneous People of Biafra(IPOB) was a strategy to protest and seek the release of the asserted unlawful incaceration of the detained IPOB leader,Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,by security agencies and seemingly was a mass movement across the South East zone of the country,as various private sectors sympathetically concurred to the directive by closing shop on Monday.
The public sectors across the South East zone, for fears of unruly damage or mayhelm being afflicted on their institutions took to the order which is entirely illegal before the law and the government of the federation.
Pointedly,from September 2021,every economic and commercial activities on Mondays including schools and banks developed an abrupt culture to have been shut down. To that extent the IPOB message and strategy was well delivered but the objective was obviously directly achieved.
Whereas the economic loss paid as part of sacrifice in the zone were counting in billions.
To curtail the menace, Several Igbo socio cultural organisations reasoned for other approaches of securing the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu instead of continuing with the sit at home strategy,which painfully iwas strangling the econmy of the South East zone. Equally,Findings revealed that while the real IPOB are soft pedalling on the sit at home strategy, miscreants seized the opportunity to rob innocent citizens of their hard earned resources and in several instances set ablaze cars and other properties of innocent citizens as a means of instilling fears on them to compulsorily stick to sit at home.
The absurd and ugly development aroused the attention of some South East governors,who took bold steps to have rescued their citizens to the ugly menace of sit at home as being perpetrated by miscreants. To mention,Ex Governor Dave Umshi of Ebonyi state fought the miscreants to a standstill, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra state and Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state
Enugu state was still under the perils and bondage of the unlawful enforcement of sit at home by miscreants uptill last week,when the new state governor,Dr Peter Mbah,after his maiden meeting with security chiefs in the state announced the resumption of normal operstions by all public institutions in the state from today,Monday,June 6.
The directive by the state government tasked all the civil servants,commercial banks,parastatals,the private sector and markets to open up for their usual businness,assuring that the security agencies will be on ground to secure lives abd properties of the citizens.
To that effect,the Enugu state police command has mapped out strategies to protect innocent residents of the state who wish to go about their normal businesses on Mondays from harrasment or attacks from alleged Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB),who insists the people of the South East zone should continue to stay at home every Monday, as a condition to agitate the incaceration of IPOB leader,Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,by security agencies.
The Enugu state police commissioner,CP Ahmed Amani,directive is in compliance to the order of the state governor,Dr Peter Mbah’s ban on the usual ‘Sit at home’ starting from Monday,June 6,2023.
A police press statement that effect from the office of the state police public relations officer(PPRO),DSP Daniel Ndukwe made available to news men urged innocent citizens to go about their normal duties on Monday,June 6,promising that security
operatives will be on ground protect lives and properties of residents.
The police press statement read in parts,
“Sequel to the declaration of the Executive Governor of Enugu State,Dr Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, putting an end to the illegal Sit-at-home order in the State, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Ammani, fdc, has ordered Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, Commanders of PMF Squadron Bases, other Tactical and Operational Units of the Command, to deploy personnel and all the operational and intelligence resources at their disposal to actualize the declaration, by ensuring maximum public security and safety of citizens and property in the State on the hitherto illegal Sit-at-home days.
“He further directs them to ensure that the strategies already devised to reverse the ugly trend are implemented to the latter, warning that lapses on their parts shall not be tolerated”.
“The Commissioner notes that innocent and law-abiding citizens of the State deserve to go about their lawful businesses without fear of harassment or physical threats by unscrupulous and subversive criminal elements, enforcing the illegal Sit-at-home order. Hence, he tasks the Supervisory Officers and personnel under them to live up to expectations, by ensuring that every part of the State is visibly patrolled and necessary policing actions taken to forestall possible adverse activities of the undesirable criminal elements”.
CP Ammani directed that enforcement of the order would be a joint effort of all government security agencies in the state including the Military and the Police.
The Enugu state Police Commissioner,CP Ahmed Ammani,lamented that many people have lost their lives and several others had their properties destroyed by those he described as subversive criminal elements in their illegal act of enforcing sit at home on Mondays.
He urged every Nigerian citizen living in Enugu state to cooperate with the Police and the Joint Security Forces in the struggle to restore Mondays as normal working day in the state.
CP Ahmed Ammani further the people to the pepetrators of the illegal sit at home enfircement to the nearest Police Station or call the Command’s emergency hotlines on: 08032003702, 08075380883, 08086671202 or 08098880172 for necessary policing actions.
