Commuters, residents of Owerri, capital city of Imo State, have been plunged to palpable tension as soldiers were said to have taken over parts of Owerri; subjecting residents to difficulty of movement.

It was gathered that major roads were rendered unsuitable for passage as motorists were barred, asked to reverse their vehicles. People were made to trek along distances to get to their destinations.

Passersby were forced to raise their hands, above their heads, as they walked through the streets.

Military posts were, however, positioned along the streets with armored personnel carriers. Some of the rifle wielding soldiers were seen flogging motorists.

A Vanguard correspondent, who monitored the incident, was made to trek from Portharcourt road to Government House roundabout.

A resident on anonymity, said, “Owerri is turning to something else, what kind of punishment is this? I have been trekking for over an hour now. The government must stop punishing the people.

Meanwhile, the State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, on Sunday, urged residents to disregard the speculations that hoodlums wanted to attack the State again.

Uzodinma, made this known, on Sunday, after church service at the Government House Chaplancy, in Owerri, the state capital.

He said, “Imo people and residents should go about their business, without fear of molestation or harassment, what happened in the past weeks, will never repeat itself again.

“Let me use this opportunity to reiterate, my earlier stand that those perpetrating the violence and evil in Imo state are mostly not Igbo people, but hired machineries.

“The government under my watch, will not allow those who vested mayhem on the people to operate again in Imo State.

“We will crush anybody, that attempt to cause mayhem or attack Imo people, again. Government cannot surrender to blackmailers, hoodlums and perpetrators of violence, who have sworn to make the state ungovernable.

“Over 400 of those, who carried out the threats on the State in the past, have been arrested and are undergoing trial in the country, the good thing there is that over 70 percent of them are not Igbo.”

Ijeoma Njoku reporting, Obinwannem News | May 24, 2021