Markets, banks, schools and shops were closed.
Business activities in Enugu, the Enugu state capital came to a standstill on Monday as residents were forced to observe the sit-at-home exercise ordered by Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based self-proclaimed disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
SaharaReporters observed that schools, government offices, markets, fuel stations, malls, and banks, among others, were all closed.
Major roads across the state were also deserted as bus services and commercial motorists withdrew their services.
Ekpa had declared a five-day sit-at-home across 'Biafra land' (South-East region of Nigeria) comprising five states – Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi. He declared the sit-at-home to test the resolve of the people to boycott the 2023 general elections.
However, the detained leader of IPOB, Kanu, through his counsel, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, countered the directive and asked IPOB faithful to ignore the order as he never authorised it.
Several Igbo groups including Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the foremost pro-Biafra group, Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), also urged Igbo people to ignore the sit-at-home, describing it as an anti-Biafra agitation which does not serve the interest of the people.
Ekpa, who claimed to be the spokesperson for Biafra, however, countered it and warned Biafrans to ensure that they complied with the sit-at-home order in order to avoid becoming victims.
Lambasting Ejiofor, Ekpa had said, "Biafrans should as well, disregard the hallucinations of the members of the defunct DOS and their fellow mischief-maker -the unprofessional Barr. Ejiofor, who has chosen to use the pages of the Nigerian newspapers to deceive the public that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu condemned the 5-day Sit-At-Home Order from the DSS dungeon.
"Those peddling these outright lies represent the South Eastern Governors and politicians who do not want Biafra to come. They do not speak for our indefatigable leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu but the oppressors.”
Ekpa had added, “We will stop at nothing to make sure Biafra is restored in 2023 no matter what they do.
"Once again, the scheduled Sit-At-Home Order will take place on the following dates: "Friday, December 09, 2022; Saturday, December 10, 2022; Sunday, December 11, 2022; Monday, December 12, 2022; and Wednesday, December 14, 2022.
"The above dates are to be observed with absolute sit-at-home order compliance, to avoid 'the Nigerian state happening to you'. So, to be 'foreinformed is to be foreprepared.'"
On Friday, Enugu residents shunned the sit-at-home order and went about their business as usual.
On Saturday, some hoodlums suspected to be enforcing the sit-at-home attacked New Market, one of the biggest markets in Enugu. During the attack, they razed a police patrol vehicle and reportedly killed three people including a pregnant woman, who was felled by a stray bullet.
Following Saturday's violence, residents on Monday stayed at home. The streets of Enugu were almost deserted and the highways in the town, which are almost always busy, became a shadow of their former selves as bus services and commercial motorists were nowhere to be seen.
In the same vein, markets, banks, schools and shops were closed.
It was gathered that markets in remote villages were also deserted for fear of hoodlums who have been violently enforcing the sit-at-home order.