Biafra Day: Onitsha shut with zero compliance in Awka, Asaba, Owerri

There was a near-complete lockdown of the entire South-East geopolitical zone yesterday, following the sit-at-home order at the instance of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, which has described the success as a sign that it was in total control of the zone.

Across the South-East and South-South, the group recorded total compliance in some major cities and its environs; partial but substantial compliance in some and failure in parts of Enugu,Imo and Ebonyi states. Commercial activities were in full swing in Ogige Market, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State as traders defied the sit-at-home order by IPOB.
Onitsha market, Awka IPOB recorded total compliance in Onitsha, as business activities were shut. The situation was, however, different in the Anambra State capital as people moved about their businesses and the offices and commercial houses were open without molestation.

Apart from police patrol vans that were stationed in strategic positions in and around Awka, there was nothing to show that there was any order directing people to sit at home. In Onitsha, all the markets, financial institutions, transport companies, schools and government institutions were closed.

There was partial compliance in Oba, Nnewi, Obosi, Nkpor, Ogidi, Ihiala and other surrounding towns and villages. Also, the fact that yesterday was Feast of Ascension which Catholics usually observe as a day of obligation, made many people to also abstain from work and businesses as all schools and offices run by Catholics were not open.

There was peaceful atmosphere in the state as security agencies, including the Army, Navy, Police Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were at different junctions to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order. The usual gridlock in most parts of Onitsha was totally absent and there was no member of IPOB sited in any part of the state. Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, officials that mount check points in various parts of the state were surprisingly absent.

The popular Onitsha Main Market, Marine Market, Ose Okwodu Market and other street markets, as well as Nkwo Nnewi Market were not opened for business. Shops, including the popular Sir Emeka Ofor and other plazas known for selling and repairing telephones and its accessories were all closed for business.

In Fegge area of Onitsha, roads were deserted while shops in buildings were all under lock and key. The popular Bridgehead Market that had over 25 markets under it, including the Onitsha Patent Medicine Market, were all closed.

The Ochanja Central Market and all the markets also in Fegge area of Onitsha were closed for business as youths engaged in all kinds of games including football, draft and other games.