The city of Onitsha, Anambra State was on Wednesday morning tensed due to the illegal activities of some youths wielding guns and other dangerous weapons, who tried to disrupt economic activities.
According to a source, the armed hoodlums are claiming to be enforcing a sit-at-home directive.
The source noted that they are suspected to be loyal to the proscribed group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
They were said to set a commercial bus and a tricycle in Onitsha ablaze and were shooting in the air to scare people away.
NIGERIACRIME gathered that the activities of the hoodlums on Wednesday morning had sent panic through Onitsha town, with a source saying that the enforcers were heading towards Abagana in Njikoka Local Government Area through the old road.
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A message had last weekend been circulated on social media, stating that there will be a 4-day sit-at-home exercise in the southeast, beginning from Monday, May 8 to 11. No reason was given for the order. But a press release by the spokesperson of IPOB, Mr Emma Powerful, stated that the group had announced May 30 as a day for all Biafrans to sit at home in commemoration of Biafra Day.
The incident was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, who said police operatives confronted the enforcers, and they had long been dislodged.
Quoting him, “Police responded swiftly which made the criminals escape the scene. The hoodlums, in an attempt to scare the residents from coming out to embark on their daily activities, stopped and set on fire commercial vehicles and tricycles plying the road.
“The residents courageously resisted the assailants and the fire has been put off by the police operatives and some people in the area. Meanwhile calm has returned to the area and the situation is under control and monitored.”