South East Sit-At-Home: Senate condemns order, wants Ekpa extradited; Enugu residents march, says enough is enough

The Senate, on Wednesday, condemned the Monday sit-at-home in the South East geo-region and asked the Federal Government to collaborate with the Finnish Government and extradite a pro-Biafran agitator, Simon Ekpa, for prosecution.

The upper chamber also resolved to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs (when appointed) and relevant stakeholders to carry out thorough investigation as well as bring other sponsors of the act to book.

The Senate also rejected a recommendation for IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu’s release, saying it would amount to sub judice as the matter of his release was still in court.

The illegal sit-at-home order is said to be enforced by a faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in five South-East states — Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi.

The unconstitutional order was declared in 2021 to press home demands for the release of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is being detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) and prosecuted for terrorism-related charges.

The Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, in July 2023, said the sit-at-home is making his state lose over N10 billion every Monday.

Residents of Enugu State on Monday, trooped out in their numbers to march against the Monday sit-at-home being enforced by Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed disciple of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The State Governor, Peter Mbah, had on June 5, banned the Monday sit-at-home in the state and had urged residents to go about their legitimate duties on that day.

Mbah, had also during the monitoring of compliance to his directive in several major markets and government offices previous Mondays, expressed displeasure that some residents still stayed at home despite his assurance by security operatives that their safety would be guaranteed.

However, as early as 8am on Monday, residents of the state gathered under the auspices of a Coalition of Civil Society groups and marched around the state to encourage the people to return to their Monday businesses.

Led by their Coordinators, Onyinye Mammah, Ebuka Okoh, Bismark Oji, Charles Ogbu, and Eberechukwu Anigbo, the people carried banners and placards with different inscriptions such as “Enough is Enough”; “Say No to Sit-at-Home in Enugu”, “Allow the poor to breathe”, ‘Our mumu don do”, “Enugu people must be freed from the shackles of those who want to hold it down”, among others.

Chanting ‘No more sit at home in Enugu’, they converged at the Michael Okpara Square from where they moved through the Presidential Road, Ogui road, Ogbete Main Market, Okpara Avenue, Garden Avenue, New Haven, Bisala road and back to Okpara square.

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Enugu State chapter, Emmanuel Ede who took part in the march, described it as a “heart warning”, saying it was an indication that residents of the state were no longer comfortable with the forced sit at home every Monday in the state.

“There is no better way to show support for what the Enugu State governor is doing to end the Monday sit at home than this march,” he said.

The Executive Director of Heroine Women Foundation, Onyinye Mammah, who spoke on behalf of the coordinators, explained that they had taken a decision to embark on the March following the devastating effect the continued Monday sit-at-home has had on the economy of the state and the southeast region as a whole.

Other residents who took part in the March said it would go a long way in encouraging business owners and other residents in the state to disregard the sit-at-home order by Ekpa and his disciples. which according to them, has not benefited the state and the entire southeast region in any way.