Onitsha, Awka become ‘ghost’ cities as residents comply with sit-at-home order

There are no signs of commercial activity in Onitsha and Awka in Anambra state as most residents are indoors, apparently in compliance with the sit-at-home order.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had asked all Igbo residents of the south-east to stay at home to observe Biafra Remembrance Day.

The groups are marking the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra by the late Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Speaking with TheCable, Ebuka Obiakor, a resident of Onitsha, said the main market in the city was closed, and that there was no sign of life in the area.

“The main market is closed, and banks are not open. Residents are observing the sit-at-home order. In fact, I am in village now,” he said.

Also, Ral Uba-Anene, a civil servant in Awka, told TheCable that there was no form of commercial activity in the city.

“Nothing is happening here. I am trying to get to work but there are no buses,” he said.

Another resident of the city,  Alex Ugwuja, a lecturer, said the same thing.

“There is no commercial activity. I am in my house,” he said.

There has been a heavy build-up of security agents in the south-east, following threats of protest by pro-Biafra groups.

Last Friday, the police threatened to deal with the groups if they protested in the streets.

Amnesty International, a human rights watchdog, has warned Nigerian security forces not to repeat the bloodbath of 2016 when more than 60 pro-Biafra protesters were killed.

Photo credit: Emeka Gift