Umahi Imposes Curfew on Ebonyi Border Towns

By Benjamin Nworie

Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, has imposed a curfew from 8 pm to 6 am at all entry and exit points with neighbouring states.

It also banned all social events such as wake keeping and nightclubbing from 6 pm, warning that defaulters will be fined N1million.

Umahi announced the order yesterday while briefing reporters after the state Executive Council meeting.

He also ordered all native doctors to register with security agencies in the state immediately.

The governor also ordered traditional medicine dealers to register with the Ministry of Health.

He warned that anybody who failed to adhere to the directive would be prosecuted.

Umahi exonerated the security arm of the proscribed secessionist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Eastern Security Network, from the recent attacks on security agencies in the state.

The governor lamented that fake news purveyors were complicating the scenery challenges by spreading fake news through social media.

He directed security agencies to henceforth arrest and prosecute anybody spreading fake news capable of causing a crisis on social media.

He said: “We have agreed that all native doctors in the state and traditional medicine dealers must within seven days today register with the Commissioner for Border Peace, with the Commissioner for health and with the CP.

“There will be an executive order to this event and anyone that is caught doing otherwise will be arrested and will be prosecuted.

“We are aware there are some killings over the weekend; a policeman was killed, two army men were killed and I think one civilian and their killers are pure bandits.

“They do this killing and put it in social media that they are members of IPOB or ESN.

“Without standing for either IPOB or ESN but they continue to deny that they are not into violence but for me, criminality is criminality and I have directed security agencies to crack down on all criminal activities in the state.

“And for those who did the killings, the security agencies must bring them to book within 72 hours, they must do that.”