Senator Ubah: Anambra Orders Closure Of Schools

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Ahead of the Friday November, 22,  burial ceremony of late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the Anambra State Government has ordered all public schools in Nnewi, in Anambra South District to be shut down.

The State Government said this is to avoid pupils and students being caught up in a possible crossfire between State and non- State actors during the burial .

The Source reports that the Senator that represented the Anambra South at the National Assembly who died  at a London medical facility  on July 27, 2024,  began his final journey with a valedictory session by the Senate on Tuesday.

He will be buried on Friday at his country home in Umuanuka Village, Otolo in Nnewi in Anambra South Senatorial Zone.

There are growing fears that unknown persons are aiming to use the burial as a launch pad to  unleash mayhem on the State.

Already, a nebulous group had early this week warned against bringing the late Senator’s corpse to the South-east for burial.

Only on Wednesday  evening November 20, the police and local vigilante operatives were engaged in exchange of sporadic gunfire resulting from mistaken identity.

The clash which took place at the Izuchukwu Junction on the Nobi/Nnewi Road was  as a result of the vigilante members mistaking police operatives for unfriendly forces .

The Anambra State Police Command Spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, SP, noted that the attack was not  linked to non state actors whose earlier threat had provoked security agencies and locals to be on alert .

“The attack was not linked to non state actors or any attempt to disrupt the burial of late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah”, Ikenga stated.

According to him, Police operatives were on an investigative mission when the clash broke out between the two friendly security agencies .

The shootings he further informed, led to the razing of a police operational vehicle-a Toyota Venza which was set alight by gunfire.

“Two innocent bystanders were injured and taken to the hospital ” he noted .

Although the police authorities said they have drafted operatives of the state’s Joint Security Forces JSF to provide adequate security before, and during the burial of the late Senator, apprehension over a possible disruption of peace remain palpable.

A circular from the state Ministry of Education on Thursday, November 21, directed all schools in the Zone to remain closed till Tuesday 26, November ..

Consequently, parents and guardians have been  called upon to keep their wards at home, and adopt all necessary measures to prevent pupils and students from  wandering on the streets throughout the period of the burial.