For some of those who obeyed the order of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to defy the Monday sit-at-home directive by Biafra separatists, it was a scary morning as gunmen seeking to enforce the directive unleashed volleys of bullets.

Reports reaching News Express have it that worst hit was Nkpor area in the vicinity of the famed commercial town, Onitsha.

“There were gunshots from around 4 O’clock this morning,” a source from the area told News Express. “A number of people are believed to have been shot but there is no confirmation yet,” the source added.

A number of videos are trending, one of them showing a man in suit shot in the face and the other showing a bullet-riddled Mitsubishi bus.

In the case of the bus (see photo), the narrator, who claims to be the owner of the vehicle, laments that he decided to obey Governor Soludo’s order to reopen his shop – only to be attacked by unknown gunmen.

“Now, see what has happened. Thank God that myself and my two boys escaped death,” the man, speaking in Igbo Language, said.

News Express found that while traders opened their shops in the Onitsha Main Market – just reopened after being shut for a week by Soludo – and others, the roads were largely deserted and there were no customers. In some of the markets, traders were seen keeping themselves busy by playing football.

There had been confusion over today’s sit-at-home exercise. While Emma Powerful, Spokesman of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ordered it to hold throughout the South-East in reaction to Soludo’s order, IPOB Lawyer, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, declared the order fake and told people to ignore it.

Further to that, IPOB’s powerful Directorate of State (DOS) issued a statement declaring the order unauthorised and abolishing the use of the name Emma Powerful, which it claimed to be a pseudonym, for IPOB’s statements.

However, Emma Powerful countered the statement, saying that only IPOB Leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is serving prison sentence in Sokoto, can take such a decision.

Update news