The Nigeria Police has warned members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) against plans to implement their sit-at-home order today in the South-East states, saying legitimate force will be deployed to stop the agitators.
The Police stated that they won’t hesitate to deal decisively with IPOB members in accordance with the law if they disrupt public peace.
Also, the Ebonyi State Government has threatened to ensure the permanent forfeiture of shops of traders that observe the sit-at-home order in the state.
On his part, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State said it will sanction civil servants who fail to report to office today in compliance with the IPOB sit-at-home order.
The police said the IPOB remained proscribed, insisting that any protest by the group, however so described, remained illegal and offensive to the law.
The Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the Anambra State Command, Mr. Garba Baba Umar, handed down the warning yesterday against the backdrop of IPOB’s decision to celebrate Biafra Day today, and reports that the group had undertaken a sensitisation rally in Anambra State, ahead of the celebration.
The CP’s warning was conveyed in a statement by the Command’s spokesman, Mr. Haruna Mohammed, a Superintendent of Police (SP).
The statement called on residents of the state to disregard the sit-at-home order, even as they were urged to go about their legitimate duties without fear of molestation.
“The Command will, therefore, not hesitate to deal decisively with and in accordance with the law any individual or groups under any guise that will disrupt public peace in the state.
“The attention of Anambra State Police Command has been drawn to a media publication that claims that “no fewer than 2,000 members of ‘outlawed’ IPOB took to the streets and roads of Onitsha in Anambra State on peaceful march to sensitise the public on the sit-at-home order it declared on May 30.
“The publication is not only fictitious, but also mischievously orchestrated by those elements who are not happy with the prevailing peace in the state which the Police and other law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to maintain.
“For the avoidance of doubt, IPOB is still a proscribed organization, hence all its activities remain illegal.
“The police, once again, enjoined all the good people of the state to disregard alleged calls by any group urging them to sit at home on May 30 and go about their lawful businesses,” Mohammed said.
The police further assured the public that adequate security arrangements have been put in place by combined security forces in the state to proactively nip in the bud any threat emanating from such groups.
On his part, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has declared that traders who obverse the sit-at-home order by IPOB will permanently forfeit their shops.
Fliers containing messages of IPOB calling for sit-at-home have flooded Abakaliki, the state capital. The fliers are found in strategic locations including motor parks, Vanco junction, Spera-in-Deo junction and Nkaliki.
But Umahi, who made the declaration in Abakaliki while addressing the people at the 2018 Democracy Day celebration, noted that the sit-at-home order would not be observed in the state.
He said that the state was terribly marginalised during its days in the old Anamabra, Enugu and Abia and was now making efforts to “find its feet”.
“We do not need distractions or second colonisation as we continue to believe in God to change our narrative with no man born of a woman setting us back.
“Any trader that closes shop on the day will forfeit it forever and any protest will be decisively dealt with.
“Ebonyi indigenes should go about their businesses peacefully and safely and if the South-East governors say we don’t want IPOB activities, it does not mean that we are happy with the zone’s marginalisation in the country,” he said.
The governor noted that the manner in which IPOB was pursuing its course was not right as the Ohanaeze Ndigbo took the right action in the comity of Ibo sons and daughters.
“We call on the Federal Government to look into the plight of South-East and address the issue of marginalisation because we believe in one Nigeria that will enshrine justice and fairness.
“We also believe in the sanctity of human lives and call on the citizens to cooperate in ensuring the growth and development of the state and country,” he said.
In Anambra, the state government vowed to deal with civil servants who fail to report to office today in compliance with the IPOB sit-at-home order.
The directive for workers to return to work after May 29 Democracy Day celebration was given in a circular from the office of Mr. Harry Uduh, Head of Service in the state.
The government asked permanent secretaries and heads of departments and agencies to monitor the situation and report accordingly.
According to the memo, the “Governor of Anambra has directed that work resumes on Wednesday, 30th May after the public holiday on 29th May.
“All public servants must therefore report to their duty posts on Wednesday and the rest of the week.
“Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Ministries, Department and Agencies should monitor and report compliance unfailingly. Please circulate to all your staff,” it said.
Meanwhile, IPOB has explained the rationale behind its sit-at-home order to its members.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Deputy Leader of IPOB, Mazi Uche Mefor, and made available to newsmen in Umuahia, the group explained that the order “is about respecting those who fought and died for your freedom.”
Mefor noted that IPOB was aware of the public interest the order had generated, but insisted that the day was symbolic in the agitation and self-determination calendar of Biafra and, therefore, must be observed by all true Biafrans.
“The past few days have witnessed a remarkable public interest in the symbolism of the 30th May Biafra Remembrance, particularly the ‘Sit-At-Home’ order. May 30th is just one day in 366 days, but it represents an enduring epitaph that recalls many great feats, struggles and tribulations.
It is about the greatest collective self-defense against a genocide that lasted four years from 1966 to 1970.