As a way of tackling the rising insecurity in South-East Nigeria, the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has ordered troops to raid the hideouts of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) enforcing sit-at-home order.
AN24 reported that Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed disciple of the leader of IPOB Nnamdi Kanu announced that there would be a two-week sit-at-home in the South-East region from July 31 to demand the release of the incarcerated leader of the proscribed group.
Ekpa has since ordered armed men believed to be IPOB members to enforce the just concluded one-week sit-at-home order.
Reacting, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, noted that Ekpa has no constitutional right to make such announcement.
He assured that the issue of sit-at-home will soon come to an end as the troops of the 82 Division had been given an order to work with other security agencies to end it.
Onyema said, “The renewed threat by IPOB to compel the people in southeastern Nigeria to sit at home is not only appalling but a violation of the fundamental rights of southeastern Nigerians and, therefore, unlawful. This will never be condoned.”
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Also, the Nigeria Police Force, through its spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, vowed that no illegal sit-at-home order would be permitted in any part of South-East.
Adejobi disclosed that the police had killed and arrested non-state actors enforcing the order, adding that the police were keeping a watch on the sponsors of the agitators.
He said, “The police will not allow any unlawful order to stand in any part of Nigeria. The sit-at-home order is illegal and unacceptable. We have suppressed and neutralised the non-state actors who have been trying to enforce the order. We have arrested many of them and recovered their weapons.
“We will not relent in our efforts to maintain law and order in all parts of Nigeria, and we assure the people in the South-East to go about their lawful businesses as we have emplaced adequate security measures to protect them. We are keeping watch on the sponsors of these agitators who cause pain and sorrow in the areas.