Personnel of the Nigerian Army from the 34 brigade, Obinze on Tuesday reportedly shut traders out of the Orlu timber market for obeying a sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB following the trial of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The market was shut down on Monday in solidarity with Kanu whose trial was supposed to resume on the same day.
However, the traders came to the market on Tuesday only to find gun-wielding soldiers blocking them from gaining access into their stalls.
The development caused friction between the traders and the invading soldiers.
A trader in the market who spoke on the conditions of anonymity said that the only reason the soldiers gave for not allowing them to trade was because most of the traders didn’t open shops on Monday, in solidarity to Nnamdi Kanu.
“They said that for doing that, we are all IPOB members, so the market will remain shut till further notice.
“What kind of thing is this? What right do they have to tell us when to open and when not to open?
“Even if some closed shops because of Nnamdi Kanu, what is wrong with that? Is he not our son and brother?”
When contacted for comments, the public relations officer of the Imo State Police Command, Sam Mbatam said he was not aware of the development.
The Army in the state was yet to comment on the development at the time of this report.
