Southeast governors have advised residents to ignore the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The proscribed group had urged residents of the region to stay home to protest the arrest and detention of its leader Nnamdi Kanu.
It said the 6am to 6pm shutdown would be observed every Monday “until Kanu is freed”.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Abutu Yaro, urged residents to ignore any such directive from “illegitimate persons and entities that parade the airwaves with falsehood”.
He urged residents to go about their normal business, adding: “It is from the various daily activities they put food on the table.”
Also, Enugu government urged residents to ignore the directive, calling it “a familiar propaganda that has enthroned hardship on the citizenry”.
Executive Chairman, Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), Denge Josef Onoh, in a statement, urged residents to go about their business.
“There is no constituted authority, either as federal, state or local government, that declared any Monday as a resting or work-free day.”
In Ebonyi, Special Assistant to Governor Dave Umahi on Media, Francis Nwaze, said in a statement: “The general public is urged to feel free to go about their lawful businesses in consonance with COVID-19 protocol… without any fear of intimidation or molestation, both on the said date and thereafter.”
Abia Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi-Kalu, said in a statement that the state was in contact with the Kanu family and others involved in the case.
The statement reads in part: “The Abia State government is confident that the judiciary will ensure a free and manifestly fair trial for him and others as they remain innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“We, therefore, wish to call on all citizens and visitors to continue to be law-abiding and avoid any activity that might lead to a breakdown of law and order.”
