South-East On Fire As Police Mobilise Against IPOB Sit-At-Home Order, Deploy Operatives
The Anambra State Police Command has deployed security personnel to schools across the state ahead of May 30 Biafra’s Heroes Day, which the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared as ‘sit-at-home’ day to honour their foreign heroes and heroines.
A statement issued by the spokesman for the state police command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, on Wednesday, said a security team tagged, “Operatives of Schools Protection Squad” had been deployed to enforce law and order in the state.
The team is led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations Department) of the command.
IPOB had warned that the May 30 sit-at-home exercise across southeast Nigeria will be held as planned.
It had also warned the management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Anambra State against holding its convocation on May 30.
It said the day had been selected by the group for its Biafra Remembrance Day to honour Nigerians of southeast extraction killed during the 1967-70 civil war.
However, the state police command in its statement, said, “The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Nnaghe Itam, has complemented the already emplaced joint security force comprising of the Army, Navy, civil defence, and other sister agencies to address any security concerns, especially against criminal elements enforcing illegal sit at home in the state.
“By the deployment of the Operatives of Schools Protection Squad led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Operations Department to ensure the safety of students in the state, for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination on May 30th, 2024 nationwide.
“The Schools Protection Squad is an initiative of the Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun, designed to protect the schools, students, and institutional infrastructure. The squad is equipped with relevant assets and advanced training to effectively respond to security challenges facing educational institutions.
“The personnel dispatched have been tasked to intensify robust patrols around schools and vulnerable institutions in all the locations in the state.”
“Also in the event to request security service or to report any security-related incident or otherwise, call us on 07039194332 for a prompt response. The ‘npf rescue me app’ is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS, for Android and iPhone users respectively,” Ikenga added.
Similarly, the police command in Imo State in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesman, Henry Okoye, said security personnel had been deployed across the state operatives to enforce law and order on May 30.
He said the security personnel were drawn from the police, military, civil defence, road safety, immigration and fire service.
The state police commissioner, CP Aboki Danjuma, urged residents of the state to go about their business and ignore the declaration of a sit-at-home exercise by IPOB.
