By Adadainfo
The Enugu State Police Command says it never directed its personnel to abandon their duty posts because of threats to peace following the sit-at-home order by Simon Ekpa.
Recall that Ekpa, who claims to be the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, directed the sit-at-home from Dec 9 to Dec 14 to sensitise the people of the South East not to participate in the 2023 elections’.
The New Market wing of Enugu metropolis was burnt with some persons allegedly killed during the enforcement of the order.
Shortly after the incident, a recorded message allegedly asking police operatives to vacate their duty posts and relocate to the barracks for their safety went viral.
DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the state police command’s public relations officer, issued a statement debunking the report.
According to him, “The report is not only unfounded, false and misleading, but clearly the handiwork of mischief-makers seeking for avenues to cause panic amongst the peace-loving citizens of the state.
“The commissioner of police did not at any point issue such orders, directing personnel of the command to abandon their duties and be confined to barracks, as purported and being circulated, neither did he delegate any of his immediate lieutenants to issue same.
“The Nigeria Police Force remains a fully regimented agency of government, with clear and defined channels of internal and external communication; hence, would not have relayed a message meant for internal to its external audience, as being circulated on the social media.”
The state police commissioner, CP Ahmed Ammani, in the statement, enjoined the citizenry to disregard such ‘baseless narrative’, while reiterating that the command ‘remains focused and committed to professionally discharge its duties on a daily basis, in line with the statutory mandates of the Nigeria Police Force’.
