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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Palpable fear gripped residents of Imo State on Monday as gunmen forcefully enforce the sit-at-home directive of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB).
Most residents who had resumed at various places of their establishments before 8 am were said to have been sent back home by the gunmen wielding sophisticated weapons.
The panic according to our correspondent started from Ukwu-orji to Ogbaku,Orogwe in Mbaitoli and Owerri west Local Government Area of the State respectively when the gunmen had invaded some schools in the area and forced them to close before their normal time.
Parents were seen hurrying to pick their children from their various schools as at 9 am while those who could not wait for their parents to come ran away from fear.
At Orogwe/Ndegwu road,two vehicles reportedly ran into each other while hurrying to pick their children from school.
An eye witness disclosed that the driver of the bus from Ndegwu was running at a high speed to pick his children from school just as the other when they rammed into each other.
Although both drivers were lucky to have escape the incident unhurt but their vehicles were severely damaged.
Meanwhile,it was not long the panic shifted to the metropolis , shops already opened for business in Owerri and other parts of the town began to shutdown over alleged threats issued to them by the hoodlums. Banks,filling stations,schools and artisans were not left out even as the roads became empty.
At Ehiogugu, Mbaise and Naze in Owerri north Local Government Area,shootings by the gunmen were said to have scared residents of the place to return back to their homes.
Some of the tertiary institutions in the State also hurriedly shutdown amidst the pandemonium caused by the gunmen.
