Panic buying of food items by residents of Awka in Anambra State continued until late evening on Saturday as families sought to stock their homes over an order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The group which holds a yearly sit-at-home protest to commemorate the killing of people from the southeast, every 30th of May had announced that this year’s event would hold on Monday to allow worshipers go to church on Sunday.
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB had warned that anyone found outside in the southeast and the south-south zones of Nigeria on Monday will be heavily dealt with.
However, some people in the region had gone to the streets with rumours that the exercise starts from Saturday night, until Monday night, causing residents to go on a panic-buying spree.
A visit to Eke Awka market, a major market that serves the Anambra State capital and environs showed that residents were making purchases of food items that can serve them until after Monday, 31st May.
A resident of Awka, Mrs Blessing Obasi said, “I’m buying foodstuffs for my family, which will serve us until after Monday. This shopping would have been tomorrow (Sunday), but it fell on Sunday, and there won’t be any market tomorrow.”
