Police in Ebonyi held a show of force on Wednesday in collaboration with the military, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the security personnel converged at the police headquarters in Abakaliki before heading out to different parts of the capital city.
The exercise came within the seven-day “sit-at-home’’ order issued by a faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which started on June 30.
Police spokesperson in Ebonyi, SP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, told newsmen that the show of force was held to assure residents of the safety of their lives and properties.
She said the show of force was a routine programme to assure that security personnel were always ready to combat crime in Ebonyi and in Nigeria at large.
“It is a routine event and it is targeted at restoring the confidence of the people in the security agencies.
“We have gone round the town to assure the people that we are capable of protecting them. We visited some flash points and traffic points,’’ she said.
Onovwakpoyeya urged Ebonyi residents to ignore the seven days “sit-at-home’’ order by the faction of IPOB and advised them to go about their lawful business.
She added that the police had launched a manhunt to bring hoodlums who disrupted economic activities in Ebonyi on Tuesday to book.
“Residents should go about their lawful businesses; police operatives are after the hoodlums who have been causing trouble in different parts of the state,’’ she said.
Sporadic shooting rented the air on Tuesday in some parts of Abakaliki as hoodlums moved to enforce the “sit-at-home’’ order of the IPOB faction in Ebonyi.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
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