IPOB: Army Chief Orders Clapdown on Sit-At-Home Enforcers

Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, the chief of army staff, has ordered Nigerian Army forces to establish control over areas where Simon Ekpa, a self-described follower of IPOB detainee Nnamdi Kanu, had enforced a sit-at-home order in the South-East.

He did so as Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, reaffirmed yesterday that the state police command would continue to provide security in Anambra for people who want to conduct business without interference, emphasising that the police have no business dealing with people who prefer to stay at home when they should be working to support themselves.

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This is even as the Labour Party presidential candidate during February 25 presidential election, Peter Obi, has described the insecurity in the South East region as ‘criminal activity’.

He said though the activities were being attributed to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, the proscribed group has constantly distanced itself from the crimes.

Lagbaja’s order came in response to a statement issued by pro-Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa, who is located in Finland and ordered a two-week sit-at-home protest that would start on Monday, July 31.

Ekpa said that the sit-at-home order served a number of purposes, including facilitating the emancipation of the Biafran nation, but insisted that the protest’s core demand—the immediate and unconditional release of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu—was inviolable.

However, the pro-Biafra agitator cautioned that defying the sit-at-home order would have dire repercussions.

Ekpa’s remark, according to Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, was illegal and would not be condoned.