Ahead of the November 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, residents have begun to flee to other states.
Speaking with FIJ, residents who have now taken refuge in other southeastern states said they fled Anambra for fear of violence during the election.
“I’m not voting. I am in Imo already; I am staying with my friend now. Many of my friends have also left that place,” one of them said.
Other residents who spoke with FIJ from their new locations said with the threats posed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the show of force by security agencies, they feared a bloodbath.
Several residents of Ananmbra who are still in the state said they had travel plans.
“I will be leaving Nnewi next week because of this election,” someone told FIJ on the phone. “The east is hot. I’m not even going to any state around here; I’m travelling far.”
Students at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) also told FIJ that they had received calls from family members begging for their exits from the state, and many left in the later hours of Friday, after their first-semester examination, while others said they would leave on Tuesday, after IPOB’s Monday sit-at-home is observed.
FIJ earlier exclusively reported that IPOB and its combat arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), were listed as top threats by the police ahead of the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday revealed that there were no registered voters in 86 polling units in the state ahead the election.
