"Anambra State will never be a breeding ground for anarchy, fear or lawlessness."
The Anambra state Government, under Governor Charles Soludo, has vowed not to obey directives from non-state actors on any illegal sit-at-home order.
The state government has directed that henceforth, residents should ignore the sit-at-home order by unauthorised individuals or groups in the state.
The decision is contained in a press release on Thursday in Awka, by Christian Aburime, the spokesperson to Governor Soludo.
According to the press release, the decision was necessitated by a recent sit-at-home order given by Simon Ekpa, the leader of a breakaway faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The main faction of IPOB, which is led by Nnamdi Kanu, has repeatedly disassociated itself from the order given by Mr Ekpa, who lives in Finland.
The government press release, which described the order as illegal, urged residents of the state not to comply with such directives from non-state actors or blame themselves for such compliance.
"Such directives should be completely ignored by the citizens of Anambra and by extension the entire South-east.
"As for the imposition of sit-at-home order by unauthorised individuals or groups, this is a clear violation of the law.
"Anambra State will never observe any sit-at-home order.
"Our markets, schools, businesses and other social activities will remain open.
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"Anambra State will never be a breeding ground for anarchy, fear or lawlessness," the release stated.
Background
The sit-at-home order was introduced by IPOB to put pressure on the Nigerian government to free its leader, Mr Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges.
The order was violently enforced on Mondays until the IPOB leadership suspended it in preference for the days in which Mr Kanu was billed to appear in court.
Several people have been killed and businesses and social activities disrupted by gunmen who claimed to be enforcing the sit-at-home order in the South-east.
Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, voiced his disapproval of the insecurity in the South-east, calling the sit-at-home order criminal..
"What is going on in the South-east is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike," Mr Obi tweeted on Thursday via his Twitter handle.
South-east leaders, including Governor Soludo, have appealed for Mr Kanu's release as a step towards achieving peace and security in the region.
(NAN)
