October 1: IPOB paralyses South East

AN unidentified bus driver was on Friday allegedly burnt alive after his bus was set ablaze by gunmen amidst the observance of the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imo State. 

Also set ablaze by the hoodlums during the incident that occurred in Oboma Nguru Mbaise was a truck heading to Owerri. The loaded passenger bus was coming from Owerri when it was attacked and set ablaze at Oboma Nguru Mbaise while the truck heading to Owerri was bunt at Ahiara Junction. 

An eyewitness said that before setting the bus was ablaze, the passengers were ordered out by the gunmen. 

In a related development, the palace of the traditional ruler of Obor Autonomous Community in Orlu Local Government Area of the state, Eze Obi Ralph Ekezie, was set ablaze by some yetto-be-identified persons. The incident occurred at about 4.00 pm on Thursday. 

The fire, according to an eyewitness, destroyed the monarch’s property and two other buildings near his palace. The fire was said to have been later put out by members of the community. The traditional ruler blamed those he called enemies of progress in his community for the arson. 

He said he was monitoring the development from his other abode in Owerri. He said he could not ascertain the extent of the damage until he returned to the community. 

When contacted, the Imo State police spokesman, Michael Abattam, said the command was not aware of the incident. 

Residents of Owerri had shut down businesses and stayed back in their various homes in obedience to the IPOB order, with economic and social activities paralysed in the virtually the entire state. 

All the major roads such as Mbaise, Okigwe, Wethedral, Duglas, Port Harcourt, Onitsha and Aba as well as streets in Owerri were empty as motorists and commercial vehicles were nowhere to be found to convey the few stranded passengers to their destinations. Saturday Tribune also observed that almost all small and major markets in the city were closed. 

Banks obey IPOB order, remove flags in Ebonyi 

Meanwhile, commercial banks in Ebonyi State on Friday obeyed IPOB’s sit-at-home order, which also included the pulling down of all Nigerian flags. 

When Saturday Tribune visited the popular Ogoja Road where most of the commercial banks in the state are located, it was discovered that some of the banks had pulled down Nigerian and other flags. Also, filling stations, shops, markets and gas plants were all shut down. 

Residents who spoke to our correspondent described this year’s Independence celebration as “bloody”. One of the respondents who gave his name simply as Matthew urged the Federal Government to intervene and reduce the killings in the country. 

He said: “Not even during the military era did this contraption of a country ever witness the level of disillusionment going on the country today – civil disobedience in the East, mass protest in the West, mass burial in North and mass slaughter in the Middle Belt. Why should we be punished this way?” 

No October 1 celebration in Anambra 

On Friday, residents, schools, trade unions, labour unions and others in Anambra State failed to mark the 61st Independence anniversary of Nigeria over the IPOB’s sit-at-home order. Saturday Tribune gathered that as of Thursday, plans were made to hold the celebration at Ekwueme Square, Awka, but due to the IPOB order, no single person showed up except security personnel deployed to guard the area. Although the venue was lavishly decorated in Nigerian colours with a podium for Governor Willie Obiano to take a salute, nobody turned up, including the governor. At the venue, only heavily armed police officers, armoured vehicles, which were stationed to provide security for the event, were seen. 

The boycott of the anniversary celebration is not unconnected with the call IPOB for people in the South East to stay at home on the day of the celebration. 

This is further reinforced by the spate of killings in the state as witnessed since last Saturday up to Thursday in the state. Many innocent people, including Dr Chike Akunyili, husband of former Minister of Information, the late Professor Dora Akunyili, have lost their lives. A police station was also attacked and burnt, leaving policemen dead, political parties’ branded vehicles burnt and many other people with bullet wounds. 

As of the time of leaving Ekwueme Square, organisers of the programme had started dismantling the public address system and other equipment originally provided for the event, giving the indication that the event would no longer. 

Onitsha, the commercial city, and Nnewi, the industrial town of the state, recorded total compliance with the IPOB order. All markets in the two Anambra business towns were shut down as people deserted the streets. 

Even small street markets known for selling foodstuffs and materials in Onitsha and Nnewi, which used to transact business on public holidays, were all closed. There were no vehicular and human movements, the way it used to be on Monday’s weekly sitat-home which IPOB has suspended but is still being observed. 

All filling stations in Onitsha and Nnewi were under lock and key. The River Niger Bridge, which witnesses daily traffic jams, was a ghost of itself as no single vehicle was seen on the bridge, while nobody, particularly pedestrians who use the pedestrian walkway on the bridge, was seen at the bridge head. 

Newspaper vendors who sell papers even on Sundays were nowhere to be found as they all stayed at home in compliance with the IPOB sit-at-home. A resident of Onitsha who spoke to Saturday Tribune said since people had been complying with the IPOB sitat-home order, he did not see any day that recorded total compliance like October 1. 

Small children and youths turned the streets and roads in Onitsha to playing grounds while parents were seen in different areas relaxing in their homes. There was no presence of any security agents on the roads or at checkpoints. 

However, five army vehicles loaded with soldiers were seen at Atani Road junction, by Onitsha Enugu Expressway, heading towards the Niger Bridge to Asaba, apparently escorting a senior officer to catch a flight in Asaba. Saturday Tribune also gathered that the Nigerian flag was only seen at the State Government House, Awka, hotels, the police command and other security structures in the state.