Reacting to the May 30 sit-at-home order given by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB in the South-East, the Department of State Services, DSS has w
Reacting to the May 30 sit-at-home order given by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB in the South-East, the Department of State Services, DSS has warned those behind the proscribed IPOB to have a rethink or be prepared to face the consequences of their action. According to the service, it is prepared to maintain adequate security across Nigeria, saying it will not allow any person or group to obstruct the freedom of law-abiding citizens.
Speaking, the DSS, Peter Afunnaya said, “The service will not condone people taking the law into their hands and obstructing the freedom of others. The constitution is clear on the fundamental human rights of people and no person should deliberately infringe on the rights of anyone outside the laws of the land.
“DSS in the line of its mandate will ensure that adequate security is maintained in all parts of the country and people who take the law into the hands or cause the breakdown of law and order should be ready to face the consequences.”
Meanwhile, the sit-at-home order by IPOB has continued to generate mixed reactions from some residents of Enugu State. At Coal Camp motor spare parts market, the traders said though the market would open as directed by the state government, they would not be available for business.
At Ogbete main market, a trader said she would go to the market, expressing the fear that she might not make good sales. She said in the past when such directive was given, the market was usually open but customers and many traders wouldn’t come.
“But you see, there is an issue here. Government doesn’t control transportation. In Enugu, public transport system is no longer functional. Most of the owners of the town service buses have a soft spot for the Biafran movement,” the trader added.
Also, the state Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria and the National Union of Road Transport Workers promised that their members would be available to transport commuters to their various destinations. The chairman of the state RTEAN, Chidebere Aniagu, said, “We have notified our members to be on their routes to service the people.”
His counterpart in the NURTW, Matthew Asogwa, was said to have directed his members to work on May 30.
In a related development, the police in the state advised parents and guardians to prevent their children and wards from being used by any person or group to threaten the peace and safety in the state.
“Those fanning the embers of any unlawful act of sit-at-home order on May 30, 2019 on law-abiding members of the public under any guise with a view to truncating the existing peace in the state will be fished out and be made to face the consequence of their act in line with the law,” he added.
PUNCH.
