• We’ll resume Monday trading if security is guaranteed – Traders
• Educators, business people relive ordeal flouting order
• Sit-at-Home enjoys no legitimacy – IPOB counsel
• How Enugu overcame fears, broke Monday boycott
All eyes are on Anambra State as the controversy stirred up following the one week closure slammed on Ontisha Main Market by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, over the traders Monday Sit-at-Home protest, rages on.
Monday, February 2, 2026, will be a moment of truth for both the governor, and traders at Onitsha Market following the former Central Bank Governor’s hardline position that the Sit-at-home order started by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) must cease to be obeyed in any part of the state under any guise.
The day will be a time to test if the governor’s directive will be adhered to by the traders who have expressed willingness to open for businesses if adequate security is guaranteed.
It is also a day to show if Soludo will match his words with action by rolling everything in his government’s arsenal to deal with criminal elements who take pleasure in unleashing incalculable and unimaginable havoc on innocent citizens for defying the Sit-at-Home order.
A meeting between Soludo and the Onitsha Main Market stakeholders on Thursday, ended with the traders promising to end Monday Sit-at-home if the government provides them with enough security.
They told Soludo that what they did was not disobedience to his directive; rather fear of their lives at the hands of the gunmen.
The leadership of the Market, in the interactive session, was led by the chairman, Chijioke Okpalugo with other members of the Executive, at the government’s Light House in Awka,
While speaking, Okpalugo, said traders were prepared to commence Monday trading as usual in support of Soludo’s one Anambra, while appealing for enough security to guarantee the safety of the traders and the goods.
They requested for visible security architecture and organized motor park to facilitate movement of goods of the customers, while also demanding for punishment to those who enforce Sit-at-home in the Market
The governor was blunt in telling them that all markets and shops in Anambra State must remain open on every working day, including Mondays.
He maintained that the era of sit-at-home-induced market closures was over, stating that Igboland and Anambra state must move forward.
“For those shouting “show me the law where you can close our shops”, I want to say that they should be ready when I show it to them. I will also show them the law that empowers me to revoke that market and use it for whatever is better for the state.
“I can revoke that market, pay compensation to people who have private structures there, and use it for even an annex of Agunechemba Security if I like.
“I hope that push will not come to shove, but in the next two weeks, we will start recertification. A lot of people want shops in that market, so if you are not ready to open shops, go elsewhere. We will revoke your shops and give them to people who are willing to open” Soludo said
He specifically presented a “renovate or rebuild” option for the market, offering either a complete redevelopment into a modern trading hub or a comprehensive overhaul of existing structures.
He insisted that business activities must continue irrespective of the option chosen.
Soludo described the enforcement of the sit-at-home as a criminal enterprise no longer connected to the agitation for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, dismissing claims that the order was linked to the detained IPOB leader.
“It is not linked to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. He does not support the sit-at-home. If it doesn’t happen in Umuahia, his hometown, why Onitsha and Nnewi? Soludo asked
He assured traders of an overhaul of the state’s security architecture around markets, pledging that Anambra’s commercial centres would be protected from harassment and intimidation from the hoodlums
Genesis of fresh trouble
The fresh trouble started when the governor, on Monday paid an unscheduled visit to the biggest market in sub-Saharan Africa and discovered that despite his warnings and pleadings to stop the Sit-at-home on Mondays that the market remained closed.
He eventually closed it for one week, promising it will be extended to one month if the traders failed to resume coming Monday, declaring, “enough is enough”.
Protest erupted the following day. The crowd of traders that went on rampage was infiltrated, it was discovered. They could not do much because Soludo had sent troops of red eyed security operatives to the market
Some of the traders stormed the government Light House (Government House) in Awka to pour their hearts out. Soludo was not moved.
Innocuous as the protest appeared, observers said the politics of Sit-at-home by traders isn’t ordinary.
The Sit-at-home situation, introduced by the outlawed indigenous people of Biafra IPOB, led by jailed, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in 2021, has become another thorn in the flesh of Ndigbo.
Before then, Mondays were days traders from across Ghana, Cameron, Togo, Benin, Niger, Ivory Coast among others visit the major markets in Igboland to purchase goods, but that idea died about six years ago, no thanks to IPOB’s senseless killings and kidnappings.
The Biafra agitators turned themselves into monsters every Monday, trying to enforce the Sit-at-home on the citizenry and the fear grew.
Opposition politicians came into the fray, using the momentum to challenge the government until their families were roped in and some of them were killed, including their loved ones.
Though, it was believed that IPOB was hijacked at a time, even when it’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu had allegedly, disengaged from the Sit-at-home, but the monster he created, continued.
The Monday Sit-at-home has crippled the vibrant Southeast economy, yet, the leaders of these states had been helpless.
Those leaders in different states, including Anambra, created different security outfits to compliment the conventional ones, all to no avail.
The supposed separatist group metamorphosed into “unknown gunmen” maiming, killing the police, military, kidnapping, burning government facilities and vehicles etc.
But today, the tide has shifted. Soludo has brought what looks like solution that comes with fury.
But the governor’s position didn’t go well with the people many of who wondered if the state helmsman is oblivious of the mindlessness of the enforcers of the sit at home order.
A teacher, Anulika Okonkwo who resides in Onitsha but teaches in a school in Awka described a trip to Awka from Onitsha on Mondays as scary.
She said, “First is the fear of the unknown gunmen. Having heard or watched on social media where gunmen killed people and destroyed properties during sit at home on Mondays, once you board a vehicle, you’re already gripped with fear, praying nonstop till you get to Awka.
“Secondly are the limited vehicles on the road to convey you from Onitsha to Awka.
“Many drivers have cancelled their work on Mondays due to the deadly behaviour of the gunmen on these days, making it difficult to see bus easily available to Awka.
“Thirdly is the cost of transportation. On Mondays, transportation is very expensive compared to other days. From Onitsha to Awka is almost doubled of the price.
“More worrisome is the time factor. Due to insufficient vehicles which lead to high cost of transportation, arriving Awka late becomes a normal thing on Mondays.”
Another teacher in one of the schools in Ihiala area of the state who preferred anonymous complained about the availability of students and pupils on Mondays.
“Even when the teachers come to school on Mondays, the students would not be available to be thought as parents have refused to release their children because of insecurity in the state.
“Besides, those of us in the remote villages find it difficult transporting ourselves to school on Mondays as a result of limited vehicles.
“Above all is the fear of insecurity in the state. Most of us are afraid of going to school on Mondays because of fear of insecurity,” she said.
A trader in Onitsha Market, Augustine Onyema, who hails from Imo state, described Soludo as one who hates people’s progress.
The angry 52 year old woman lamented that some of their colleagues lost their lives, while some others were kidnapped for not obeying Sit-at-home in the past.
Another trader, Mr John Chuma Nwosu, who contested the November 8 governorship election on the platform of African Democratic Congress, ADC, described Soludo sledgehammer on the traders as hasty.
According to him, “when a tsetse fly perches on your scrotum, you quickly learn that not all problems can be solved with force and sledgehammer. Wisdom, patience, and tact often achieve what brute action cannot”
“When he made that decision of closing the life line of Ndigbo for days, it became immediately clear that he had misjudged the moment.
“The sit-at-home phenomenon was largely organic and, by all indications, was gradually losing steam. What he required was sustained dialogue, diplomacy, confidence-building, and strategic engagement—not a sudden action that risked inflaming tensions and punishing innocent traders.
“No state government has administratively ever shut Otu Nkwo Onitsha. Markets are not mere clusters of stalls; they are living institutions that sustain families, communities, and entire regional economies.
“Decisions affecting them must, therefore, be measured, consultative, and humane” Nwosu said
Also, Alphonsus Obi from Anambra state debunked the allegation by Soludo that majority of those who Sit-at-home are not from Anambra state.
For Mrs Chiamaka Ezebilo, it remains a shock why the state government would be ordering them like school children.
The woman admitted that majority of the traders are sympathetic to the IPOB leader, because according to her, “he’s the only one speaking the minds of Igbo and challenging government anywhere.
Regrettably, some of the traders are equally, members of IPOB, the reason, they continue to observe the Monday Sit-at-home, despite all the threats from government
According to the 61 year old woman,” we opened during the Christmas to join the season’s sells.
Personally, I’m not a member of any group; I don’t come out on Mondays because those killing people in this state use it as decoy to perpetrate their devilish act.
However, the leadership of the market described the government’s action as a welcome development.
The chairman of the market, Chijioke Okpalugo, hailed Soludo, saying his action was to rescue them from the hands of the hoodlums and helping the traders. It was his opinion.”
Soludo threatens to demolish market
On Wednesday, Soludo, addressed select newsmen at the government House, where he threatened to demolish the entire market and reallocate the shops if the trend continues.
Soludo told them that the market belongs to the government, adding that as the governor, he takes decision on it.
The commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, while speaking with The Nation, said the administration of Soludo is not against Biafra as being speculated by certain individuals, but the rascality or the armed struggle that has been the issue.
He noted that when it was tried before, it set the region 50 years back, saying that the decision by Soludo is sacrosanct.
“What we’re seeing in Anambra is economic sabotage. Anambra is losing billions of naira every Monday, including the traders themselves. Why are they not doing sit- at -home in Nnamdi Kanu’s place?
“70% of people doing sit at home are not from Anambra. Let them go do it in their own states” Mefor said.
Mr Tony Okafor, a senior journalist and commentator on public affairs, said he saw anger and determination on Soludo’s face and body language, while standing in the sun listening to him
Okafor said, “For over one hour, we stood under the scorching sun, right in front of the Governor’s Office at the Light House.
Pens, telephones, notepads and recorders in hand.
“Yet, no one complained. No one shifted restlessly. Everyone listened—with rapt, almost solemn attention—to what felt less like a press briefing and more like a sermon in the sun.
“I watched Governor Chukwuma Soludo closely throughout that hour, jotting down not just his words but his demeanour.
“Even when he attempted a smile, it was dry—strained. The kind that tells you the mind is fixed elsewhere.
“One did not need a mind reader to decode it: internally, the governor was angry and, more importantly, resolved to fight the sit-at-home menace to its logical conclusion.
“Soludo stated firmly that there would be no going back on the decision to shut Onitsha Main Market over traders’ continued refusal to open on Mondays.
“What is playing out, he said, is nothing short of economic sabotage. Listening to him, one sensed that the phrase was not chosen for effect, but for accuracy.
“As he spoke, his voice remained steady. No shouting. No theatrics. Just controlled anger—perhaps more unsettling than rage itself.
“He reminded everyone that throughout the yuletide, markets opened from Monday to Saturday, and often even on Sundays, without incident.
“So why the sudden fear? If Mondays are unsafe, why are people attending meetings, exercising in stadiums, and moving freely on those same days? Why, he asked pointedly, is the focus on markets—especially Onitsha Main Market?
“Under the burning sun, his conclusion hung heavily in the air: this is not about insecurity; it is about orchestration.
“Then came the warning. If traders persist in defiance, shop ownership could be revoked.
“If push comes to shove, the government could take total possession of the market—even demolish it and rebuild according to a new plan.
“As these words landed, Soludo’s tone never rose. That calm delivery, in that heat, sharpened the message. He sounded less like a man issuing threats and more like one outlining inevitabilities” Okafor wrote.
IPOB contradicts self, asks traders to ignore Soludo
The Media Officer for IPOB, who goes by the name, Emma Powerful, had raised a statement before now, urging traders to ignore the government.
Prior to this period, IPOB had called for the cancellation of the sit-at-home order and distanced itself from anything that had to do with it.
At some points IPOB had accused jailed Simon Ekpa of enforcing sit-at-home order despite cancellation.
The group, prior to this time maintained that reports linking it or its security outfit, Eastern Security Network (ESN), to the attacks on people who failed to obey the sit-at-home were false.
In one of the statements released by Emma Powerful, IPOB said: “We the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wish to tell Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State that IPOB is not responsible for the criminality in Southeast, including Anambra State,” the statement reads.
“The Governor should know that our enemies are committing atrocities using our name in their desperation to blackmail IPOB.
“It is a certain Simon Ekpa and his criminal gang called autopilots that are carrying out threats against people’s lives because of non-existent Monday sit-at-home are criminals, kidnappers and robbers.
“These people disturbing the peace of our people are not IPOB members. They should be treated as criminals. IPOB doesn’t shed blood. We are a peaceful movement.
“We wish to reiterate once again that IPOB has cancelled Monday sit-at-home order and anybody or group enforcing the relaxed order is neither from IPOB nor from IPOB volunteer group. Any governor in the region who deemed it fit to stop non-existent Monday sit-at-home order in the region is free to do so.
“Anyone caught adding to the pain of our people in the name of enforcing Monday sit-at-home order will be treated like the enemy that he or she is.
“Why should such unpatriotic elements be inflicting pain on our people and dragging our image to the mud? IPOB remains a non-violent movement and our peaceful approach for Biafra restoration has not changed.”
Contrary to the above position it held in the past, IPOB brazenly supported the Sit- at- home protest embarked upon by the traders during the week. The group’s inconsistencies saw it warning that further action by Soludo could trigger bloodshed in the state. It is a danger signal.
Emma Powerful wrote: “IPOB seeks no confrontation with the Governor or the Anambra State Government, but we demand respect for the wishes of the masses.
The voice of the people is the voice of God – (vox populi, vox Dei) – a principle well-known to the Governor as a professor.
“When the great people of Anambra, the first sons of Igboland and the origin of the Igbo race, demand action toward the unconditional release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, it is the divine speaking through them.”
Monday sit-at-home enjoys no legitimacy – IPOB’s lead Counsel
Sir, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the lead Counsel for IPOB, says the Monday sit-at-home enjoys no legitimacy, reiterating that his position on that has never changed.
According to him, “I have consistently maintained that the continued “enforcement” of a directive that no longer exists, kept alive solely through threats, rests on no ideological premise, no legal footing, and certainly no moral authority.
“It is against this backdrop that the decision to shut down the Onitsha Main Market must be interrogated with sobriety, proportionality, and an unflinching fidelity to the rule of law.
“Collective punishment of traders and law-abiding citizens, who are themselves hostages of fear, cannot, and must not, masquerade as security policy. It is neither strategic nor just.
“Security governance, if it is to deserve the name, must be precise, intelligence-driven, and squarely targeted at the actual architects and executors of violence.
“To shutter an entire economic nerve centre in response to criminal threats is to punish productivity while emboldening lawlessness.
“Any response that collapses the distinction between criminality and commerce risks achieving the perverse: legitimising the tactics of violent actors while penalising innocent enterprise” Ejimofor said
Another lawyer, Uchechukwugemezu Okafor, told The Nation that he had not seen any law that empowers government to compel business people to open their shops
He said, “I am yet to know of any law that empowers government to compel traders to open their shops. In a free-enterprise society, government cannot arbitrarily command traders when to open their businesses.
“Ordinarily, traders are free to decide when and how to conduct their enterprises. This freedom flows from constitutionally guaranteed rights to property, occupation, and movement.
“The limited power government may exercise is regulatory—for instance, prescribing general market hours such as opening by 8:00 a.m. and closing by 6:00 p.m.—purely for order, safety, and administration” Okafor said
They argue that the traders have every right to challenge the action of Soludo anywhere, but ruled out the act of violence on the matter.
Though, Soludo’s approach is being hailed by the majority, but few others, especially, opposition see it from the prism of waking the sleeping lion.
It had been established in the state that any time such statements are made, the hoodlums invade the state from all angles.
But this time, Soludo seems like a man possessed, having given the hoodlums enough time. It is the time for the security operatives, including Agunechemba and Udo Ga Achi to show strength.
The governor doesn’t show sign of a weakling this time, some people have ‘nicknamed ‘ him (Obiakpor – meaning the man of steel). It’s time for the traders to get up and be counted.
The next time the lion of Isuofia roars, the devastating effect will be heavier. Soludo frowns when it matters most, but his subtle smile is more dangerous than his squeezed face.
