Sit-at-home: Army Chief Orders Raid on IPOB Hideouts

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja has ordered troops to seize control of areas where the Indigenous People of Biafra enforce their sit-at-home order throughout the South-East states.

The order comes after a Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, announced that there would be a two-week sit-at-home in the South-East region from July 31.

According to him, the order was to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, as well as facilitate the freedom of the Biafra nation, among others.

Ekpa warned that failure to comply with the sit-at-home order would attract ‘heavy consequences’.

However, speaking in an interview, the Director, of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu declared that such an announcement was unlawful and would not be condoned.

He said the troops of the 82 Division had been given the order to work with other security agencies to ensure citizens go about their businesses freely.

“Strangely, Simon Ekpa, a notorious terrorist and self-acclaimed leader of IPOB, is in Finland making a living for himself and his family, but ordering the people to shut down their means of livelihood by sitting at home.” the statement read in part

However, the army spokesman called on Nigerians in the South-East region to disregard the sit-at-home order, urging them to support the security forces to defeat IPOB.