IPOB's September 14th Sit At Home Order Is Illegal - Police

The Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday reacted to a sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist group in Nigeria.

CKN News recalls that the IPOB had in a statement last week through the group’s Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, ordered the people in the Southeast region of the country to observe a sit-at-home September 14.

The statement had called on Igbos in every part of the country to stay indoors on the said date, to register its anger, and protest the alleged killing of men and women at Afaraukwu, Umuahia, in the course of Operation Python Dance carried out by the military in September, 2017, as well as those killed in Port Harcourt and Aba.

In the statement, IPOB regretted that one Mr Okafor, who was allegedly on a peaceful march from Nkpor to Onitsha, was shot dead by the army.

However, responding to IPOB’s statement on Tuesday, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Garba Umar, reiterated that the group is an illegal organisation and therefore has no right to give an order to anybody.

Umar made this comment while addressing reporters after a closed-door meeting of high-powered security operatives that included the Army, Police, Civil Defense, Immigration, Department of State Services (DSS), at the State Police Headquarters in Awka.

His words: "IPOB is an illegal organisation. We are therefore appealing to members of the public that, on no account should they be intimidated or harassed into succumbing to the threat of IPOB. They plan to embark on sit-at-home on September 14, 2018, but the security agencies are ready for any eventuality.

"We are ready, and we have all it takes to keep the peace in this state. Anambra State has been enjoying relative peace and we will never relax in providing adequate security in this state. We are in touch with all security agencies, including the military, that we will never ever allow anybody to truncate the democracy we are enjoying, and on no account should we allow anybody to foul this peaceful atmosphere.

"We urge members of the public to go about their lawful businesses as they will be adequately protected. The issue of calling for a referendum on the 8th of this month or thereabout and the September 14 sit-at-home order by IPOB will not be tolerated”, he added.