Buhari protest: Property burnt, church attendant shot, activities paralysed in Anambra
The visit of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari to Owerri, Imo State on Thursday had ripple consequences in Anambra State.
Commercial activities in the state were crippled following total compliance to the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra to register their disapproval of the visit.
Though, IPOB later denied the declaration of the protest, socioeconomic activities in the state were halted. Banks, shops ,markets , motor parks, government establishments and allied institutions were shut down
There were pockets of violence in some parts of the state by the enforcers of the order.
At Agulu, in the Anaocha Local Government Area of the State, a commercial motorcycle was set ablaze for operating on a sit-at-home day.
In a video that when viral, a voice was heard telling viewers to learn from the incident.
The voice who spoke in Igbo said, “When we ask people to stay at home in their own interests, they will continue to disobey our order.
“Those of you who doubt us and try to test our will should learn from this incident. We have burnt this motorcycle and chased away those old women who came to the market to sell rubbish.
“The wealth they could not make in their days, is what they want to make today. Rubbish.
In another in Oba in the Idemili South Local Government Area of the state , a vehicle was shot on the front screen .
A voice in the video said the occupant was shot while returning from a church service in the morning.
The voice warned defaulters of the IPOB order to have a rethink or be ready to face the consequences.
A trader at the Onitsha main market told our correspondents on the telephone that he complied with the order because of fear of attack.
He said,” IPOB has instilled fear in everybody not only in Anambra, but the entire South-East.
Many residents condemned the Buhari stay-at-home protest in Anambra, wondering why an event that took place in Imo should inconvenience people in Anambra and other parts of the region.
One of them said,” We are ruining ourselves.Buhari arrived Imo safely; I don’t know when we Igbos will learn.
“How can we continue destroying our own properties because Buhari came to Imo state and not even in Anambra State?”
Another said,”Frustration, envy and bitterness is at work. Hardly you see a busy, patience and God fearing person involving in destruction of life and prosperity. We should stop all these self attack.
“So is this how we’re going to get the Biafra? Envy and jealousy are much within we Igbo”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, said he was only aware of violent attack at Oko in the Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.
He said,” What we did today was to perform our primary function of protecting life and property across the state. There was an incident of armed robbery and car snatching in Okoh where the attackers tried to snatched a car from a yet-to-be identified victim.
In the struggle that ensued the vehicle plunged into a ditch and the attackers abandoned it and ran away.
“Our men had cordoned the place to avoid bread down of law and order. They incidents you said happened in Agulu and Oba,I have not been briefed about them”.
