The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Aderemi Adeoye, has promised to ensure the safety of residents of the state doing businesses on Mondays.
Mr Adeoye spoke on Monday when he visited business people in Onitsha, the commercial hub of the state, according to a report by Vanguard newspaper.
The police commissioner was referring to the infamous sit-at-home often enforced by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) across the state and other states in Nigeria’s South-east.
IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.
Mr Adeoye said he visited the commercial city to assess the security situation in the area following efforts to end the sit-at-home in the state.
The police chief used the visit to meet with shuttle drivers operating along the Upper Iweka part of the city, which has been a known den of criminals enforcing the illegal lockdown.
He subsequently announced the lifting of a curfew in Nnewi, Onitsha, and Ogbaru Areas by the state government, which was imposed during frequent attacks in the areas.
While urging the residents and business people to be law-abiding and vigilant, Mr Adeoye commended them for coming out for their activities on Mondays in compliance with the resolve of security agencies and the state government to end the illegal sit-at-home.
The commissioner assured that the police in the state would guarantee their safety on Mondays.
“Your return to your businesses on Mondays shows an act of patriotism to the nation and in return, we assure that your safety is our responsibility,” he assured them.
He gave out his mobile numbers to the residents and urged them to report any criminal activity to the police in the state for immediate action.
“We need synergy with the public to effectively perform our duties, we should work as allies,” he said.
Background
IPOB, in August 2021, introduced a sit-at-home order every Monday across the South-east to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The separatist group later suspended the order, in preference for it to be implemented only on days Mr Kanu appears in court.
But despite its suspension, residents of the five South-east states – Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra — have been observing the Monday sit-at-home order, mostly out of fear.
IPOB had repeatedly disowned the Monday sit-at-home across the region, saying those who still enforce the order were criminals attempting to blackmail the separatist group.
A leader of Autopilot, a faction of the IPOB, Simon Ekpa, has continued to declare the sit-at-home in the region, despite being suspended by the IPOB faction led by Mr Kanu.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Kanu, the IPOB leader in late July 2023, through Aloy Ejimakor, his special counsel, ordered Mr Ekpa to stop issuing sit-at-home orders in the region.
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However, Mr Ekpa described the letter as “fake,” and maintained that the illegal action would go on until Mr Kanu spoke to him directly in Finland, a North European country, where he (Ekpa) resides.
Meanwhile, several Igbo leaders such as the President-General of Ohanaeze Worldwide, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State and his Anambra State counterpart, Charles Soludo, had made unsuccessful efforts to stop the illegal action.
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