…AS STATE WIDE PRAYER SESSION FOR PEACE HOLDS
Christian faithfuls across Anambra State on Monday held a special prayer session as a result of the worrisome state of insecurity which has led to killings of innocent lives and destruction of properties in the state.
The prayers centered on restoration of peace, unity and progress as well as stability among the people.
This is as markets, shops and business centers in Awka and adjoining towns of Onitsha-, Nnewi, Ihiala, Nkpor and others were closed in strict adherence to the directive to sit-at-home.
Also, schools, commercial banks and filling stations were under lock.
Recall that the Sit-At-Home directive has been tagged as punitive instead of genuinely addressing some of the key issues of the IPOB struggle and the members’ demand for the release of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Also, the Sit-At-Home order has raised serious concerns among the elites and people in the geo political zone, especially, the spate of killings and destruction of properties because of the discordant tunes and leadership crisis between groups loyal to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Mr. Simon Ekpa believed to be leading a splinter group.
Besides, residents of Anambra State have continued to express the fear and anxiety over the disturbing trend of insecurity in parts of the state.
In the past two weeks, four police stations which were undergoing renovation following the October 2020 EndSARS protest, were attacked by gunmen in Nnewi South and other areas.
Also, the hoodlums on Sunday shot dead two officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) while they were on duty at Ezinifite-Uga Junction in Aguata Local Government Area.
Activities of the armed men have forced residents of boundary communities of Ihiala, Lilu, Orsumuoghu, Azia and others between Anambra and Imo states to flee following clashes with special forces deployed to the troubled areas by the Federal Government.
The essence of the prayer session on Monday was to revisit the controversial directive by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra to the people and residents of the state and four other states in the Southeast geo political zone to Sit-At-Home on Mondays.
The Sit-At-Home has been roundly condemned because of the pains and loses the development has inflicted on the states and their people.
The South a said to be losing an estimated N15 billion every market day as markets, businesses and transportation sectors are closed.
The Anambra State government in alliance with a joint body of Southeast Council of traditional rulers, heads of security agencies, and clergies had during a meeting to dialogue on the state’s security situation held at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Center in Awka on Saturday condemned the worsening state of insecurity across the state and parts of Southeast zone.
The meeting instituted an amnesty for all agitators and criminal elements, with a plea on them to lay down their arms and embrace peace.
The State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo had pledged to float the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Security Trust Fund and to take far reaching steps to reviewing the various Community vigilante groups with a view to registering all the aggrieved groups and other youths as well as to articulate training and job creation initiatives.
