One killed as gunmen enforce IPOB’s sit-at-home order in Imo

A bus driver has been killed by gunmen enforcing the sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imo state.

The gunmen were said to have intercepted the bus along Owerri-Umuahia expressway on Friday morning.

The vehicle was set ablaze by the gunmen but the five occupants successfully escaped.

Mike Abattem, police spokesperson, in the state, has not responded to a request to comment on the incident.

Chima Okoronkwo, a resident in the area, called on the government to urgently end the killings in the state.

“This insecurity is getting out of hand and if urgent steps are not taken by the government things may get worse,” he said.

“These senseless killings and attacks in the entire south-east should be curtailed now before it degenerates into total anarchy.”

IPOB had ordered a sit-at-home across the south-east on October 1 and also said it will bring down all Nigerian flags in the region.

The proscribed group had said the order is in solidarity with Ambazonia, a secessionist group in Cameroon, whose purported independence anniversary is on October 1.

The sit-at-home order has grounded commercial activities in Imo state with major roads and public places deserted.