The schools in Imo state, on Monday, could not open for school activities, following the threat of attack by enforcers of the one-week Sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in Imo.
This is coming about two years after residents in Owerri, stopped observing the IPOB sit-at-home order.
It was gathered in Owerri, from different streets that schools were shut down, based on the directives by Simon Ekpa-led IPOB.
Some of the places where schools were affected by the IPOB sit-at-home include but are not limited to Egbu, Wethedral, World Bank, Owerri-Onitsha road, Owerri -Aba, and Owerri-Port Harcourt roads among others.
A school proprietor, along the MCC/Uratta road, who did not want her name mentioned said the schools decided to shut down because of a letter said to have been written to them by IPOB, “that schools in Owerri, have refused to obey the IPOB sit-at-home, and failure to observe it will result to severe punishment on defaults.
“As a result of this, some of us communicated with other school proprietors and we agreed to stop our students from going to school on Mondays for now. Until security assures us of protection. We don’t want attacks simple. For over a year now, I think up to two years we have been opening for school activities. It is like this threat I think is like is serious.”
Another owner of a school, along Owerri-Aba road, was of the view that, “I think we have do away with this sit-at-home of a thing. How come it is coming back again, I got information that this sit-at-home is not from original IPOB people.
These people doing this should know that they are destroying the Igboland. You can’t bring war to your own fathers land. By doing this, our education sector is suffering it.”
However, other sectors affected were the transportation companies traveling outside Owerri, some of the major markets in the state, banking institutions among others.