The senate, on Wednesday, condemned the weekly ‘sit at home’ order in the South East geopolitical zone and call on the Federal Government to work in collaboration with the Finnish Government to extradite a prominent pro-Biafran agitator, Simon Ekpa, for prosecution.
This followed a motion, titled: “Condemning the disruptive nature of ‘sit at home’ demonstration in the South East Nigeria”, by Senator Osita Izunaso (APC Imo West) and co-sponsored by 14 other senators during plenary.
Senator Izunaso, while leading debate on the motion, lamented that “thousands of lives have been lost since this act started, and properties worth over a trillion naira have been destroyed which has resulted in investors leaving the region.”
The senator, however, warned that “if the activities of Simon Ekpa, who is issuing the illegal ‘sit at home’ orders is not checked, he may succeed in corrupting the minds of Nigerian youths and turning them against the government, which is tantamount to treasonable felony.”
The motion seconded by Senator Gbenga Daniel, Ogun, he said it’s a national problem which is affecting commercial activities in the zone.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe adding to the discourse, said his state (Abia State) is ‘the epicentre’ of the malaise.
He said the matter of sit-at-home started in August 2021 when the agitation group insisted on sit-at-home because the DSS arrested their leader.
He said when the criminal angle began,
“IPOB said they are no longer in support of sit-at-home.
“There’s no one in the south east who supports sit-at-home. This is beyond the citizenry,” he said.
Former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, in his contribution, lamented that “These boys have caused manufacturing problems in Abia. People have suffered so much because where this is happening is Aba, commercial hub.
“It’s not the work of the president. When we were governors, their leaders did something like that. I called on him, you can’t do that here.
“The South East governors have a lot to do to end the malaise. These boys are in the bush causing troubles.”
The President of the Senate, Goodwill Akpabio, said it’s a national issue which has affected people who used to travel long distances to conduct economic activities in the zone.
“This must stop,” Akpabio said.
The Senate called on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to end the sit-at-home order and to bring those responsible for the violence to justice.