metro
By Benprince Ezeh
SOME residents in the Southeast zone of the country observed the Sit at Home order declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in solidarity with its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who appeared in court in Abuja on Wednesday for trial.
Emma Powerful, media and publicity secretary of the group, had on Tuesday, November 9, said that the Southeast should observe the sit-at-home order, while those residing in Abuja were enjoined to move to the Court with Kanu.
“IPOB has exempted hospitals and its staff as well as journalists from the order.
“Our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, goes to court tomorrow, November 10, and our people should stay indoors, while others move to Abuja in solidarity with our leader, and we are expecting the Nigerian government and the DSS to release him unconditionally because he committed no crime to seek his people’s freedom from Nigeria.
“We hope people will comply with this order and obey our resolve to support our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. IPOB must allow our people like doctors, hospitals, nurses, ambulances, and journalists to operate during the sit-at-home because we don’t want pregnant women, sick people to have issues or complications because of their health.
“Doctors must come to the hospitals, but you must identify yourself as journalists to be allowed to report what is going on in the whole of Biafraland,” Powerful said.
But the check by Realnews in some Southeast states showed that the compliance was not total.
For instance, Chima Eze, a resident of Enugu said that it was as usual, but this time, people were moving around and the streets were not deserted like on Mondays, but the shops were locked as well as major markets. “You should know, as usual, nobody would even dare to open or risk the consequence.
“Well in my area and almost everyone I know said they were at home and didn’t even move out. My parents did not open their shops as usual and major markets, offices, banks were all closed,” Eze said.
“Malachy Okoro, a resident in Owerri said that the streets were empty and no one came out. “You need to come and see our streets, many people were at home listening to the outcome of Kanu’s trial.
“The roads, markets, schools, banks were all locked up. But I heard that the hospitals were open and Journalists were also allowed to go about their work,” Nwoke said.
“Chiamaka Okeke, who resides in Onitsha, said that it was not really noticed because many people were still celebrating Prof. Charles Soludo’s victory.
“Well, my family and almost the people I know were at home, some that were outside were celebrating Soludo’s victory that was announced in the early hours of today.
“The schools were not open and I heard the banks and markets were also closed,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the trial of Kanu to January 19, 2022.
The adjournment, according to sources, may not be unconnected with the walkout staged by Kanu’s legal team led by Ifeanyi Ejiofor to protest the refusal of some of the lawyers to enter inside the courtroom by the Department of State Services, DSS.
Tags: Benprince Ezeh Biafra IPOB Nnamdi Kanu sit-at-home
