• Urges operatives not to spare criminal elements enforcing order
• As Simon Ekpa threatens showdown
From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Following the outlaw of sit-at-home in Enugu by the new governor of the state, Mr Peter Mbah, on Thursday, June 1, the State Police Command has mapped out strategies to actualize the governor’s declaration, starting from tomorrow.
Accordingly, the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, yesterday ordered the Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, Commanders of PMF Squadron Bases, other Tactical and Operational Units of the Command, to deploy personnel, as well as all the operational and intelligence resources at their disposal to ensure that the declaration was enforced.
The state police boss who warned that lapses on the parts of the officers would not be tolerated, said they should do so by ensuring maximum public security and safety of citizens and property in the state on “the hitherto illegal sit-at-home days,” adding that they should ensure that the strategies already devised to reverse the ugly trend were implemented to the letter.
CP Ammani’s order came just as Simon Ekpa, the man behind the enforcement of Mondays sit-at-home in the Southeast even when the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu had ended it, has threatened to continue, threatening that his men would wait for the governor’s forces on Monday.
In a twit yesterday, Ekpa accused Governor Mbah of declaring war against Biafrans in Enugu State by saying he would enforce the ban on sit-at-home starting from tomorrow, Monday, with all powers available to him.
But the Enugu Police Command, in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe (DSP), said that the Commissioner has warned criminal elements to stay aware from the state as they would not be spared.
He said: “The commissioner notes that innocent and law-abiding citizens of the state deserve to go about their lawful businesses without fear of harassment or physical threats by unscrupulous and subversive criminal elements, enforcing the illegal sit-at-home order.
Hence, he tasks the supervisory officers and personnel under them to live up to expectations, by ensuring that every part of the state is visibly patrolled and necessary policing actions taken to forestall possible adverse activities of the undesirable criminal elements.
“CP Ammani reiterates that the operations to end the illegal sit-at-home order will be jointly executed by the police, the military, and other security agencies in the state. Therefore, he warns unrepentant and subversive criminal elements, known to have in recent times murdered fellow brothers and sisters, destroyed their property and disrupted the social and economic well-being of their people without conscience, in the name of enforcing the inconceivable illegal sit-at-home order, to turn over a new leaf, as the security forces shall not spare any person or individuals found wanting.
“The CP, therefore, enjoins citizens of the state to cooperate with the police and the Joint Security Forces, while remaining law-abiding and vigilant as they fully begin to go about their lawful businesses on Mondays, like every other work day. He urges them to promptly report criminals and their activities on such days and beyond to the nearest police station or call the Command’s emergency hotlines on: 08032003702, 08075380883, 08086671202 or 08098880172 for necessary policing actions.”
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