Prices of foodstuff and other common household items have gone up in Owerri, the Imo State capital, ahead of the arraignment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on 21 October.
Recall that a faction of IPOB had said Thursday is the only day its members should exercise sit-at-home to honour its leader, Kanu, as he is expected in court.
The group also threatened to shut down the South East if their leader was not produced in court on that day.
Residents of the city have continued to engage in panic buying until late evening on Wednesday as families sought to stock their homes out of fear that the order may lead to scarcity of food items.
Prices of food items like meat, tomato at Akwakuma market, Eke Ukwu Owerri market, a major market in the city, have gone up drastically.
A meat trader, who confirmed the development, said that cows are very costly now but irrespective of the hike, the people are still buying because their children will not eat food with meat.
Also, a trader at Eke Ukwu Owerri, Musa Ibrahim, said the rush had caused the cost of food items to go up astronomically in the market.
“I don’t know what will happen on Thursday and people are buying food items to stock their kitchens,” he said
