Rivers has relaxed a 24-hour curfew in Oyigbo that was proclaimed three weeks ago to check violent unrest in the town.

Information commissioner Paulinus Nsirim said the curfew will now begin at 7pm and end at 6am. 

“Residents of Oyigbo are advised to cooperate with security agencies as they go about their lawful businesses unmolested,” he said.

There has been turmoil in Oyigbo since mid-October. Police stations have been destroyed and people have been killed, including police and soldiers.

The state government blames the pro-Biafra separatist group IPOB for the attacks on state officials and facilities.

Some residents in the town said soldiers have invaded the town and shot people indiscriminately – even going into houses where people stayed indoors because of the curfew.

Mr. Nsirim said security agents were searching houses for rifles that had been stolen from them during the upheaval, and that these searches will continue. 

Oyigbo shares a boundary with Aba in Abia, and it is said to be an IPOB base. 

Governor Nyesom Wike has banned IPOB in the state and endorsed a crackdown on the separatist group.