Residents of Owerri, the Imo State capital, largely stayed indoors on Friday, heeding a sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The order marked the group’s annual “Remembrance Day” for fallen Biafra heroes.
Key commercial and administrative areas including Douglas Road, Wethedral Road, the Government House vicinity, IMSU Junction, and Orlu Road were notably deserted. Despite a significant deployment of security personnel tasked with safeguarding lives and property, businesses remained closed, and streets were empty.
IPOB designates May 30th each year for this commemoration, directing a halt to all business and public activities. In compliance, workers, traders, students, and transporters across the city remained at home. Observations in areas like Tetlow, Wethedral, and Douglas Market confirmed near-total adherence to the order, reportedly observed reluctantly by many residents.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command, through its spokesperson DSP Henry Okoye, reassured residents of their safety. Okoye issued a warning to potential troublemake
rs, emphasizing that a joint security operation involving Army, Airforce, Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), DSS, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Immigration, and Federal Fire Service personnel was deployed across the state to prevent any security breaches.
“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma, has once again called on the good and law-abiding people of Imo State to disregard the disruptive sit-at-home threat issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN),” Okoye stated. “He reassures all residents that the Command, in synergy with other security agencies, has activated robust security measures to forestall any form of threat or attack across the state”
