Sit-At-Home: Fear Of ‘Unknown Gunmen’ Forces Schools’ Closure In Enugu

Schools, both private and public, were forced to shut at Nsukka and some parts of Enugu State following an alleged planned invasion of some parts of the university community by unknown gunmen suspected to be enforcing one week sit-at-home declared by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

IPOB had weekend declared one week sit-at-home across Southeast states. Though the head of media of IPOB, Emmanuel Powerful, said the order did not come from the group, many people obeyed the order on Monday and Tuesday. Schools however opened.

On Wednesday, it was gathered that some men were enforcing the order.

A proprietor of a school located along Enugu road in Nsukka, on condition of anonymity, said, “We were alerted that the enforcers were coming to Nsukka. So we ordered our pupils and students to return home. We called their parents to come and evacuate them. We need adequate security in this town to guarantee the safety of our kids before we can overcome the threat of IPOB.”

A parent, Chibueze Onah, said, “We were called to pick our children at 9:30am. The school was due to close at 1:30pm.”

Security operatives were seen patrolling some parts of Nsukka.

The state government earlier banned sit-at-home on Mondays, describing it as ‘wasting the state economic potentials’.

A survey conducted by our correspondent showed that many parts of Nsukka are currently running helter-skelter following rumours that the enforcers are moving from Enugu metropolis to Nsukka.

“They are moving down to Nsukka,” a resident said, adding that, “traders are closing shops for their safety. Gunshots are reportedly being heard around Isakpu. UNN Beach is also in turmoil.”