. We’re not aware of such incident- Police
By CHUKS EKE
Pandamonium erupted yesterday at Odekpe market popularly known Afia Idemili (Idemili market) at Odekpe in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state, along Onitsha/Atani road as unknown gunmen suddenly surfaced from nowhere and allegedly warned traders to lock up their shops and observe the Monday sit-at-home exercise.
The incident, according to the residents started at about 7 a.m.when the gunmen on face masks allegedly showed up and expressed disgust that the traders had opened their shops for the day’s trading activities,apparently in defiance of normal Mondays sit-at-home.
It was gathered however that although the enforcers did not fire a single shot but kept shouting “close your shops and go home to observe today’s sit-at-home. Anybody telling you that Monday sit-at-home has been cancelled is deceiving you”, the traders hurriedly lockedd up their shops and scampered for safety.
A human rights activist residing in the area who simply identified himself as Onah, confirmed that although he was not around to witness the incident,by himself but his closest neighbors intimated him of the incident shortly after the enforcers left.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, told newsmen on phone that he was not yet aware of such an incident. Still in what looked like a defiance of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s directive on civil servants, traders and transporters in Anambra state to shun Monday sit-at-home and open for businesses, residents of the commercial city of Onitsha remained indoors,yesterday to observe the weekly exercise, while commercial activities were shut in all parts of the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra state and its environs, following the persistent sit-at-home embarked upon by the residents as a mark of solidarity for the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Soludo had recently met with top civil servants and market leaders in the state during which he asked them to stop observing sit-at-home every Monday as according to him, the state usually lost about N9 billion on weekly basis in trying to observe the exercise,apart from other major losses. Soludo had equally pledged to meet with leaders of IPOB over the matter and in their response, the civil servants and market leaders assured the governor that they would relay his message to their followers for consideration.
But yesterday, markets, banks, offices, petrol stations and vehicular movements were as usual halted for the day, except pedestrians and few tricyclists who moved about in shot distances.
