The Abia State Police Command on Friday deployed its officers and men to parts of Abia State in a show-of-force to demonstrate its readiness to quell any lawless acts on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the team, comprising mainly of mobile policemen and women, drove round Umuahia, the state capital, and other areas in trucks, chanting songs.
The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra had issued a sit-at-home order for Saturday to members of the public in the defunct eastern region.
The command’s spokesman, Geoffrey Ogbonna, explained that the command was poised to forestall any act that could threaten the peace and security of the state.
Ogbonna said told NAN that the show-of-force was also carried out in Aba, the economic hub of the state, as well as other major towns and villages.
He called on members of the public to disregard the MASSOB order and to go about their lawful businesses without any fear of molestation.
“We are on top of the situation,” he said, adding that officers and men of the command were on red alert and keeping 24-hour surveillance in all the nooks and crannies of Abia.
“The command warns MASSOB and any other group that would engage in any act capable of breaching the peace to steer clear as anyone caught would be made to face the full wrath of the law,” Ogbonna said.
Also speaking on the MASSOB order, the Special Adviser to Governor Theodore Orji on Security, retired Navy Capt. Chris Osondu, described the agitation by the group as “unrealistic”.
Osondu advised the leadership of the group to work toward the unity and development of the country rather than dissipate its energy and resources pursuing an obsolete and unrealistic project.
He urged residents of the state, market men and women as well as shop owners to disregard the order and open for business on Saturday.
He gave the assurance that security agencies in the state would be alert to deal with any acts of lawlessness and criminality.
The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Abubakar Mohammed, also on Friday called on the citizen of the state to go about their normal businesses without fear of molestation.
The call followed the sit-at-home order on Saturday given by persons claiming to be members of MASSOB to the people of the South East geopolitical zone.
The group had claimed that the order was to enable the people of the area to mourn their kit and kin killed by the proscribed Boko Haram insurgents in the northern parts of the country.
A statement from the spokesman of the state police command, Ebere Amaraizu, said Mohammed assured the public that nobody or group would be allowed to disturb their peace.
He also said the command had empowered its operatives to apprehend and prosecute any person or group found disturbing the peace of the citizens under any guise.
He advised members of the public to inform the command’s operatives about any attempt to disturb their peace through 08032003702, 08075390883 and 08086671202.
He also advised the public to contact any of the patrol vehicles nearest to their location for appropriate action where they could get in touch with the police through the telephone.
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