SIT-AT-HOME: MASSOB SHUTS DOWN ANAMBRA

The  “sit at home order” on the people of South East by the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), yesterday was observed in different parts of the country.

The order by MASSOB was to protest the incessant killing of the people of the South East in the country especially in the North.

Sunday Sun which monitored the order however reports that while it succeeded in some parts of the country, it failed in other areas.

 Onitsha shuts down

•Two dead, 5 injured

The order turned tragic in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of the East as two members of MASSOB were confirmed dead while five others are currently on danger list after clashing with soldiers in the city.

Sunday Sun gathered that the incident occurred yesterday in the early hours at Modebe Avenue by St John De Cross when MASSOB members allegedly on patrol to enforce the order were accosted by soldiers and in the process, their bus somersaulted and two persons died while others sustained injuries.

MASSOB’s Regional Administrator in charge of Onitsha North, Vincent Ilo told Sunday Sun that the two members of the movement that  died in the incident were shot by soldiers, while security report insisted they died in the auto crash.

Vincent Ilo said: “My men who were on patrol to enforce the order were accosted by soldiers and when they noticed that the soldiers were after them, they tried to jump out of the bus to run when the soldiers opened fire on them and shot two of them  dead on the spot while five others sustained injuries”.

The MASSOB chieftain further said the injured were taken to various hospitals in the commercial city of Onitsha.

“The soldiers also stormed our office at Otumoye, arrested four of our members, collected over 10 motorcycles and burnt down the office. We are a non violent group, canvassing for the liberation of Ndigbo, ” he said.

However, a police source who pleaded anonymity confirmed that two persons died but disclosed that the cause of their death from the preliminary investigation was an accident in which their bus skidded off the road and in the process, the vehicle somersaulted severally leaving two persons dead on the spot.

“It is a lie, soldiers did not fire a single shot throughout the operation in Onitsha and its environs.  I was part of the police team that went to deposit the dead bodies at  the mortuary and we evacuated their bodies from the gutters, so there was no single gunshot wound anywhere on their bodies, ” he said.

However, there was total compliance by  traders and residents of the commercial city of Onitsha as all the markets and shops were under lock and key even as there was sketchy vehicular movements in the major roads in the state.

At the Head Bridge, members of MASSOB, allegedly “intercepted a luxurious bus coming from Lagos and dispossessed all the passengers of their belongings and allegedly ordered the driver to use the bus to block the Niger Bridge, the only entrance into Onitsha and South East in general.”

Speaking to Sunday Sun, the Area Commander in charge of Onitsha, Mr. Benjamin Wordu said “the boys intercepted the luxurious bus, beat up the driver, collected his keys and dispossessed the passengers of their valuables causing heavy traffic gridlock.”

He said: “MASSOB members also attacked a trailer driver, collected his mobile phone and keys, deflated all the tyres, and used the trailer to block the Asaba-Onitsha Expressway opposite the office of the Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC), Onitsha at the foot of the Niger Bridge.”

At Nkpor junction in Idemili North council area of the state, it was gathered that MASSOB members on rampage to enforce the sit-at-home order intercepted a popular gospel musician, Mr. Paul Nwokocha on his way from a function in one of the communities in the state.

An eyewitness account confirmed that the gospel crooner who was on his way to Obosi to link  the Onitsha-Owerri road on his way to Aba, Abia state met the angry MASSOB members at the Nkpor Junction who flagged him down  and vandalized his car after giving him a beating of his life.

In Oba, Idemili South Council Area of the state, a police patrol vehicle was allegedly set on fire by an angry mob suspected to be members of  MASSOB , while in  Otuocha in Anambra East Council Area, it was gathered that angry youths attacked soldiers on patrol and burnt their vehicle.

Sunday Sun also gathered that there was serious tension at the 3-3 axis very close to Onitsha when soldiers allegedly invaded some of the camps of MASSOB with a view to dislodging them and in the process, many people were wounded. There was no record of deaths as at press time.

Meanwhile, along the busy Onitsha-Owerri road, over 200 tanker lorries and trailers were trapped in a heavy traffic gridlock from Onitsha to the Ihiala axis of the expressway while Nkpor New Parts flyover to Enugu also experienced same in the early hours of yesterday.

The prompt intervention of security agencies led by the Police Area Commander, Onitsha, Mr. Benjamin Wordu and the Divisional Officers in charge of Fegge, Mr. Maiqudi, Central Police Station, CPS, Onitsha, Mr. Tope Fasugba and Okpoko, Emeka Ugwu helped to restore peace in the commercial city.

The Nigerian Army, Navy, men of the Department of State Security(DSS), NSDC and the Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC), were at various parts of the commercial city of Onitsha and its environs to make sure there was no breakdown of law and order.

Traders stay at home in Kano

In Kano, Igbo traders stayed away from their business premises in obedience to the order.

Sunday Sun observed that the order, which could be described as a partial success in the state was most effective in the early hours of the day, but gradually waned towards the later part of the day as some of the traders eventually opened their shops for the business of the day as from 1.00pm.

Sunday Sun also observed that the order was adhered to at the Abubakar Rimi Market otherwise known as Sabon Garri Market and at Kofar Ruwa Iron and Steel Market in the state and in the two markets. The order was significantly felt in sections where traders of Igbo background were in the majority.

Full commercial activities, however, resumed in all parts of the markets at noon according to Sunday Sun investigation.

President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in the state, Chief Tobias Idika told Sunday that the order to stay at home was a huge success in the state adding that it was meant to call attention to the plight of  Igbo people in Nigeria and to discourage those responsible for the endless killing of people of the Igbo nation.

Order not effective in Imo

In Imo State, commercial activities went on unhindered in all parts of the state.

Sunday Sun reports that contrary to the order, movement of vehicles  especially intra-city cabs  begun   as early as 6am while commuters  trooped  to the roads  and streets  waiting  to board  the taxis  for their various  places  of business.

Markets, fuel stations, business centres, shops, super markets, fast food centres, restaurants and food vendors  operated freely in Owerri, the state capital  while commercial  motorcyclists also continued with their activities.

Sunday Sun reports that armed policemen and soldiers were placed at strategic places in the state capital in order to avoid any breakdown of law and order while patrol teams were seen regularly at different streets.

Dismissing the insinuation that the directive failed in Imo State, MASSOB administrator in Owerri zone, Chief Okechukwu Nwaogu said that the compliance was over 85 percent. According to him, all the markets in the state were under lock and key in compliance with MASSOB directive until about 11am when the state government used military personnel to unlock them.

Activities normal in Abakaliki

Commercial activities in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital remained normal as people were seen conducting their businesses without compliance to the order. Though there were low human and traffic movement on the streets of Abakaliki in the morning hours, security personnel were seen patrolling different locations to ensure peace and order in the state capital.

Sunday Sun reports that none of the popular markets in Abakaliki was shut down because of the MASSOB order.

Some residents interviewed who would not want their names in print condemned the order arguing that the timing was wrong and that those initiating the action will not put food on their table.

Partial compliance in Delta

In Asaba, the Delta State capital and environs, the MASSOB order was partially observed even though there were commercial activities at about 12 noon when Sunday Sun monitored the compliance level.

Contacted, the coordinator of MASSOB in Anioma/Ndokwa East Region of Delta State, Emeka Okafor confirmed that compliance level to the order was overwhelming at the early hours of the day.

Sunday Sun observed total compliance from commercial motorists operating between Asaba and Onitsha in Anambra as scores of commuters were stranded for lack of vehicles going to Onitsha.

Low compliance in Nsukka

Residents of Nsukka urban in Enugu State partially complied with the order as the Ogige main market opened for business even though Sunday Sun observed in down-town mini-markets at Odenigbo and Onuiyi that shops were locked up.

There was lull at various motor parks in the city as few passengers were seen in them. Also along the busy university market road, few shops were closed while some were locked up inside the main market. Vehicular traffic was also minimal when compared to other weekends.

Earlier, police authorities in Nsukka had urged residents to ignore the call and go about their businesses assuring them of security of their lives and properties.

The Divisional Police Officer, Mr. James Nwokolo told Sunday Sun that adequate arrangements have been made to protect residents from molestations from any quarter. At press time, no arrest or violence was reported.

A politician who pleaded anonymity told Sunday Sun that the order by MASSOB was justified and decried the rampant killings of Ndigbo by Boko Haram in the northern parts of Nigeria and further humiliation of Ndigbo by burying the victims in mass graves.

Source: Sun