The Enugu State Government, ESG, has threatened to shut schools and markets that observe the controversial one-week sit-at-order declared by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Professor Chidiebere Onyia, Secretary to the State Government, SSG, in a statement this morning warned proprietors of private schools not to comply with the civil order or risk losing their licence.
He explained that the warning was in response to social media reports this morning that proprietors of some private schools in the state were sending messages to parents that they would not open their schools for one week due to the controversial sit-at-home order.
“The Enugu State Government is alarmed and dismayed by this development and hereby warns that any school that fails to open and function normally from today will have its license revoked immediately.
The statement reads:
“The Enugu State Government also extends the same warning to market unions and shop owners in the state. All markets and shops in the various markets must be open to customers from today or be shut down indefinitely.
“Government will no longer sit by and watch faceless groups and misguided individuals issue illegal orders, dictating to us how to lead our lives, when to go to work or market and when our children go to school, while they ply their trade and their children go to school.
“This is no longer acceptable and must be confronted and defeated with every power and resources at our disposal.”
The ESG warned those encouraging observance of the civil action by peddling fake information to scare residents to desist from such acts or face prosecution and that it would “deploy the instrumentality of the law, such as the Cybercrime Act 2015,” to prosecute those behind the posting and sharing the fake information about the sit-at-home to frighten residents into obeying the illegal order.
It would be recalled that Simon Ekpa, leader of a faction of the IPOB, had, in a statement on 14 June, announced that there would be a one-week sit-at-home in the region from 3 to 5 July and continue from Friday 7 to 10 July.
Ekpa said the action was to demand the “immediate and unconditional release” of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been detained by the Department of State Services, DSS.
But Emma Powerful, spokesperson of the IPOB faction led by Mr Kanu, disowned the order saying the sit-at-home order did not emanate from the group.