▪︎ Activities ground to a halt in Anambra
By Chuks Moses, Awka
Two middle aged men were shot dead by soldiers in the early hours of Monday at Nnewi, the industrial hub of Anambra state.
According to an eyewitness account, the two were shot during an altercation with some soldiers patrolling the city to ensure no one was molested for not obeying the sit-at-home order by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB).
The soldiers ran into a barricades mounted by suspected members of IPOB to prevent those disobeying the group’s order.
The two who died during the bloody confrontation at the popular Izuchukwu junction area of Nnewi roundabout were said to be a leader of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and a commercial motorcyclist he engaged to take him round the area to monitor and enforce compliance.
Problem, according to the witness, started at about 7.00am when some IPOB members came out to enforce the sit-at-home order and then mounted a barricade on the major roads in the industrial town.
Some unidentified soldiers, however, got wind of it and came in to clear the barricade but were challenged by the suspected IPOB members and were shot.
Incidentally the moment news circulated about the killings, people who initially came to out for their daily business quickly locked up and rushed back home.
Some vehicles were consequently smashed by aggrieved youths over the attack on the civilians by armed soldiers.
A combined team of security operatives was quickly despatched to major points in the city to avoid complete breakdown of peace and to disperse protesters.
The general picture round the state – Awka, Nnobi, Abatete, Ideani, Nkpor, Onitsha, Oba, Ogidi and Abagana was the same as commercial activities were completely grounded. Schools, banks, markets, courts, public and private offices were closed. The roads, including highways were empty.