Enugu Security Council warns promoters of sit-at-home

The Enugu State Security Council has warned promoters of sit-at-home against enforcing the illegal order in Enugu State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The council, which comprises heads of security agencies in the state, issued the warning on Monday after their meeting in Enugu.

The meeting presided over by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State was in response to a recent declaration of a four-day sit-at-home order by Simon Ekpa, a controversial Biafra agitator.

Mr Ekpa, who heads Autopilot, a faction of IPOB, on Sunday, declared a four-day sit-at-home across five states in the South-east.

IPOB is a group seeking the independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out of the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.

The Finland-based Nigerian, in a statement posted on his X handle, said the illegal order would be enforced in the region from 29 July to 2 August, including 1 August.

The declaration by Mr Ekpa came hours after Governor Mbah called for his repatriation from Finland to Nigeria to face prosecution over the killings in the South-east.

‘It’s an aberration’

But at the meeting on Monday, the Security Council said sit-at-home remained “an aberration in all the nooks and crannies” of Enugu State.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Kanayo Uzuegbu, said no one has the right to stop others from going about his or her lawful business.

“Any activities or actions by any person or persons that are inimical to the peace of the state, we assure you, they (the persons) will be ruthlessly dealt with,” Mr Uzuegbu said.

The police chief said the security operatives were ready to “crush” any criminal that tries to destabilise peace in the state.

“We are further positioning the security forces in every corner of Enugu State. We will appear to the criminals like a ghost and deal with them like a ghost,” he stated.

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Background

Mr Mbah, on assumption of office as governor of Enugu State in May 2023, banned sit-at-home in the state, which is often enforced by a faction of IPOB across the South-east.

The governor subsequently called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the IPOB, who is facing terrorism charges at the Federal High Court Abuja.

Although the sit-at-home waned significantly in Enugu State after the ban, it was yet to completely stop.

Mr Ekpa, the controversial Biafra agitator, has been issuing the sit-at-home orders, despite Mr Kanu’s instruction against the illegal orders.