Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, was in the early hours of Monday thrown into a state of chaos as unknown gunmen struck at different parts of the city, throwing residents into confusion and creating panic and a state of anarchy and lawlessness.
The unknown gunmen, suspected to be miscreants loyal to the Finland-based Simeon Ekpa faction of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, fired sporadically for many minutes in the city without any challenge from security agencies, making residents and law abiding citizens who had defied the 5-day sit at home to run helter skelter for their dear lives.
Civil servants, businessmen and women who had opened offices and shops for the day’s business activities had to hurriedly close as sounds of sporadic shootings were heard from different directions. Even court sessions were immediately and abruptly halted following alleged failed attempts by the suspected gunmen in Sienna buses to gain entry into the court premises.
Unconfirmed reports said that not less than two innocent victims were suspected to have been hit at the Ahia Ohuu market along the Abakaliki- Enugu Express road by their stray bullets. The international Market was also hurriedly closed as people started running to different directions following news of buses being burnt by the bandits at different locations of the city, paralyzing businesses.
But in a conversation with the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Chief Chooks Oko on the incident, he dismissed it as a ‘panic situation’ created by some people to instill fears, adding that “nothing happened”. He denied that anybody was killed and advised residents to remain calm and go about their normal businesses.
Information at our disposal indicate that the unknown gunmen were enforcing the Sit At Home Order from Simeon Ekpa based in Finland. He had advised Ndigbo last week to remain at home from 9th-14th December in protest against the incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu who is still being held in detention against the order of the Appeal Court ruling in Abuja.
But in a swift reaction, Emma Powerful, a spokesman of the mainstream IPOB had come out to distance Nnamdi Kanu and the entire leadership of IPOB from the sit at home order, arguing that the order did not emanate from their leader Kanu. He advised Ndigbo to ignore it and go about their lawful businesses.
As the 2023 general election approaches, there are fears that some politicians who are afraid of the rising political profile and country-wide acceptability of Peter Gregory Obi of the Labour Party may be sponsoring the insecurity in the South East to instill fear in voters to truncate election in the region which is the stronghold of the Labour Party presidential candidate.
However, Monday’s attack by the gunmen came to residents of Abakaliki as a shock. It will be recalled that due to the strong internal security arrangement by the government, people have not been observing the sit at home order in Abakaliki since it started as the city remained a safe haven, unlike what obtains in other parts of South East. However, as at the time of writing this story, calm has returned to the city following the intervention of the police and other security forces, but many people are still holed up in their homes as they are afraid to come out..
