How one person was shot dead during Biafran protest in Anambra

                                                  
One person was confirmed dead , while three others sustained injuries in Onitsha  when  more than thirty thousand members and supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) took to the streets   to protest the continued detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu and to press their demand for an independent state of Biafra.Business activities in the commercial nerve center of Anambra State were paralysed as major markets and streets were shut down completely while travelers were stranded as vehicular movements from the Onitsha –Asaba end of the Niger Bridge Head was stalled owing to traffic gridlock.Vehicular movements were also disrupted along the Onitsha Enugu Expressway, Onitsha Owerri Road, Uga Atani Ogaru Local Government Road, Onitsha Aguleri, Nsugbe, Nkwelle Ezunaka Roads, Old and New Market Roads, Nkpor, Ogidi, Obosi Roads.Markets in Onitsha and its environs were all shut between 7am to about 2.30pm when some traders were seen loitering around their markets to see if they will be allowed to open, while some decided to go home for the day as they were also afraid that they may be attacked.Although the Anambra State Government had announced through the market leaders who also exchanged text messages to ensure that their markets were open but the traders seemed to be unwilling to go to their markets as most of them who normally leave in the morning for their markets were sighted on their streets discussing the protest which IPOB declared earlier in the week they will embark on.The protesters marching in their numbers from the Ogbunike toll gate along the Onitsha –Enugu expressway trooped down to Upper Iweka before proceeding to the Bridge Head section where they were joined by their supporters from Delta state.Initial attempts by the joint security task force set up by the Anambra State Government comprising of soldiers, police, army , navy and NDLEA who had earlier patrolled major streets in Onitsha on Thursday to stop the protesters failed as tear gas canisters fired into the crowd could not disperse themThe security agents later maintained a marked distance from the crowd as they continued chanting solidarity songs of protest and freedom as they occupied one lane of the expressway completely.  Addressing reporters at the thick of the protest,  Mr. Collins Godfrey Okafor who identified himself as a true son of Igbo land and IPOB Commander said that they are holding protest of freedom irrespective of whether the government likes it or not.He said that they are law abiding citizens who have decided to press for their rights in a non violent manner and to say it loud and clear that the continued detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu is unacceptable.Okafor said that the closure of all markets in the state is a sign that  the Igbos are one and united  noting that the youths are angry because all the activities of the government are not  favourable to them. He said that there is no going back on Biafra since Ndigbo continues to be treated as second class citizens in the country.However, the peaceful protest later turned bloody when a member of the Anambra Vigilante Service established by the State Government allegedly opened fire on the protesters within the Ochanja market killing one instantly and injuring two others.At the Onitsha Main market, one other person was reportedly shot by the vigilante drafted to maintain peace in the area amidst speculations that some miscreants wanted to cash in on the situation to loot shops.When the reporter visited the Ochanja area of the Iweka Road, Onitsha, corpse of the slain protester was dumped along the Zik’s Avenue near the Ochanja Roundabout.Some policemen mounted guards at the Ochanja roundabout while passersby raised their hands in the air as a sign of surrender before they could pass through the area.Though there were conflicting reports on how the killing occurred, an eye witness account, Festus  Okoli, a cyclist  told Saturday Sun reporter that the vigilante man just opened fire from the Ochanja market gate and shot his passenger on the leg before shooting the yet to be identified man killing him instantly while bullet also injured one other. Showing the reporter his blood stained trousers,  Okoli said that he is also a security operative and was saved because he was fortified with charms that bullets cannot penetrate his body.Another respondent said that the vigilante fired shots in self defence because some miscreants wanted to set fire on the Ochanja market with the intent to engage in mass looting which was foiled by the vigilante.Efforts to get the reaction of the Coordinator of Anambra Vigilante Services, Ikechukwu Aduba (Rtd CP) as at the time of filing the report proved abortive.