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Ban on sit-at-home in Enugu: Markets, malls, banks open, Gov. Mbah hails level of compliance
…We’re tired of sitting at home, traders, residents tell Mbah
• Ogbete to fully reopen next Monday
It was relatively a beehive of activities as the governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, toured various parts of the state capital on Monday to monitor compliance with the ban on the illegal sit-at-home declared by some non-state actors.
This was even as Enugu traders and residents told the governor that they were tired of sitting at home, describing it as a plague killing their businesses and household economies.
While commending the level of compliance in most places visited, Mbah, who was at the Spar Mall, Roban Stores at Bisalla Road, Market Square, Shoprite, Zenith Bank at Ogui Road, Celebrities, Ogbete Market, Garki Awkunanaw Market, Mayor Market, Abakpa Market, and the State Secretariat, among others, however warned that traders, who continue to sit at home from Monday, 24th July stood to lose their shops to serious-minded businessmen.
He said adequate security had been provided, observing that there had not been any incident of attack since the ban on sit-at-home in June.
Mbah, who took time to interact with business owners, shoppers, traders as well as civil servants at the State Secretariat, said “it should never be heard that we were cowed because of the threat of violence by these criminals”, noting that “the poverty that will befall us for sitting at home will kill us even faster”.
“We are losing over N10bn every Monday that we sit at home. Enough is enough. This foolishness must end and it must end now. We cannot be marginalising ourselves and still complain of marginalisation.
So, we must say no to sit-at-home because what it means is that we are destroying our employment, our economy, and our GDP. We must erase it from our memories. We should see it as our shameful past, which we do not want to remember. We must put it behind us and forge ahead, ensuring that we work every working day of the week”, he urged Enugu people.
To the traders at Ogbete, Garki, and other markets, he however warned that locking shops on Mondays would no longer be condoned.
“But you know, there are also consequences for not heeding our orders. Going forward, I want to put you on notice. I will go around the state again on Monday next week. We are going to come with the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority to put a seal on any shop that is found locked on Monday because of the illegal sit-at-home. We will take it that you are not ready to do business.
“We are going to revoke your license to operate. We will revoke your shop title and reallocate it to someone else, who is ready to do business. This is something we must enforce with effect from Monday next week”, he forewarned.
Meanwhile, the market leaders and business owners have assured the governor that they were now ready for full compliance, saying they were already sick and tired of the Monday-sit-at home.
At the meeting with the Ogbete traders, President of Enugu State Amalgamated Traders Association, Comrade Stephen Aniagu, assured the governor that they had already agreed to commence full business, saying all shops would be open from next Monday.
Also, the leader of Abakpa Nike Market, Bernard Anike, also assured the governor that they had since started complying with the ban of sit-at-home
Meanwhile, a development economist, Richard Emeka Ezeh, lamented the high cost of sit-at-home and commended Dr. Mbah’s determined efforts to bring it to an end.
“I’m surprised to see the governor here. I like it that he is going round to sensitise the people on why they should come out.
“Employers of labour were losing so much money to sit-at-home. The economy cannot grow when we are losing N10 billion every Monday. As a development economist, I know that the private sector drives every economy, but the private sector cannot thrive in a place where people sit at home.
“So, let’s continue to convene town hall meetings, engage the youths, engage the artisans, and continue to sensitise the market women”.
On her part, Chioma Nwagu, said the sit-at-home was killing the economy.
“We have to come out to do our business. We can’t feed ourselves while staying at home. We have to come out and do our businesses”, she stated.
In the meantime, public and private schools monitored by journalists in Enugu were open, most of them for the first time on a Monday since the beginning of sit-at-home.
At the Spring of Life International Schools, where full academic activities were on, Mr. Dominic Okoro, who came to complete his child’s registration, told reporters that “restoring academic activities on Mondays will help the children”, expressing happiness at the development.
A middle-aged man has been arrested over alleged involvement in gruesome murder of his employer, a Pentecostal Bishop of End-reconciliation Ministry Asaba, Delta State.
The suspect was said to have also attempted to dispose of the deceased Toyota Prado Jeep in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State before his arrest.
Confirming the incident on Wednesday while briefing newsmen, Commissioner of Police, State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu said the suspect was arrested together with his accomplice alleged to be the buyer of the stolen vehicle.
The vehicle of the murdered Bishop
He said the stolen vehicle was also recovered from the suspects during the operation.
According to Orutugu, “The breakthrough followed a swift intelligence-led operation by Operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu, which led to the arrest of the suspect and another individual alleged to be the buyer of the stolen vehicle.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect, who served as the Bishop’s driver and domestic staff, allegedly conspired with yet-to-be-identified criminal elements to murder the cleric before fleeing with the victim’s Prado Jeep to Anambra State for sale.
“Police Operatives, acting on credible information, tracked and intercepted the suspects in Nkpor, successfully recovered the stolen vehicle, and took them into custody for further interrogation.”
According to CP, investigations are ongoing to apprehend other members of the criminal gang involved in the incident and fully unravel the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate murder.
He advised residents to exercise due diligence in the recruitment and management of domestic staff, drivers, and other household employees.
Orutugu also urged members of the public to properly profile and verify the identities of persons employed in their homes and establishments, while also remaining vigilant to suspicious behaviours and activities.
“We assure the public that the Command remains committed to proactive policing, intelligence-driven operations, and collaboration with sister security agencies to ensure the safety of lives and property across the State.
While speaking to newsmen, the bishop’s driver said, “immediately we arrived home and my boss asked me to open the gate, I didn’t know that some people were trailing behind us.
“One of them rushed me, ordered me to lie down and marched my head and hit it with the gun. They went inside and met my master.
“They threatened to kill me if I raise alarm or call the police. They asked me to contact someone from Onitsha who will buy the vehicle. The buyers came this morning and took the vehicle.”
A personal driver of a Pentecostal bishop of End-Reconciliation Ministry in Asaba, Delta State, has been arrested for allegedly killing his employer and fleeing with his vehicle, a Toyota Prado Jeep.
The driver, whose identity has yet to be disclosed due to ongoing investigations, was arrested alongside another suspect in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, while attempting to sell the vehicle.
The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Ikioye Orutugu, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Command’s headquarters in Awka, on Wednesday, adding that the suspect murdered the cleric before fleeing with his vehicle to Anambra to sell.
Orutugu said the arrest followed a swift intelligence-led operation by operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, which led to the arrest of the suspect and another individual alleged to be the buyer of the stolen vehicle.
He said the driver conspired with some criminal elements still at large, to kill his employer, adding that investigations are ongoing to apprehend other members of the criminal gang involved in the incident and fully unravel the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate murder.
He said, “The operatives of the Anambra State Police Command arrested a domestic staff member allegedly involved in the gruesome murder of his employer, a Pentecostal Bishop of End-Reconciliation Ministry in Asaba, Delta State, and the subsequent attempt to dispose of the victim’s Toyota Prado Jeep in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
“The breakthrough followed a swift intelligence-led operation by Operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, which led to the arrest of the suspect and another individual alleged to be the buyer of the stolen vehicle.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect, who served as the Bishop’s driver and domestic staff, allegedly conspired with yet-to-be-identified criminal elements to murder the cleric before fleeing with the victim’s Prado Jeep to Anambra State for sale.
“Police operatives, acting on credible information, tracked and intercepted the suspects in Nkpor, successfully recovered the stolen vehicle, and took them into custody for further interrogation.”
The CP stated that investigations are ongoing to apprehend other members of the criminal gang involved in the incident and fully unravel the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate murder.
Orutugu advised the public to exercise due diligence in the recruitment and management of domestic staff, drivers, and other household employees.
He urged members of the public to properly profile and verify the identities of persons employed in their homes and establishments, while also remaining vigilant to suspicious behaviours and activities.
“We assured the public that the Command remains committed to proactive policing, intelligence-driven operations and collaboration with sister security agencies to ensure the safety of lives and property across the State,” the CP added. (The PUNCH)
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, over alleged money laundering offences.
A source within the anti-graft agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, disclosed on Wednesday that Abdullahi was arrested in Abuja and is currently in the custody of the commission.
According to the source, the alleged fraud involves funds estimated at N500bn.
“We have arrested the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, for money laundering offences. He was arrested and is currently in our custody. The money Is to the tune of N500bn,” the official said.
Efforts to get confirmation from the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, were unsuccessful as he could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
President Bola Tinubu had on October 24, 2023 appointed Abdullahi as Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria.
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