Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on traders and shop owners at the Onitsha Main Market to resume business on Tuesday, despite a one-week closure ordered by Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
Governor Soludo announced the closure on Monday after traders failed to comply with the state government’s directive to disregard the Monday sit-at-home order. The governor issued the order during an on-site visit to the market, warning that the closure could be extended if compliance remains low, while security agencies were deployed to seal the premises.
In a statement released late Monday, IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful argued that the traders’ businesses were neither established nor funded by the state government, insisting that traders have the right to determine when to operate.
IPOB declared that markets in Anambra State would open on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, describing the move as an exercise of the traders’ right to livelihood rather than a defiance of the governor’s directive.
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The group also urged the Federal Government to release IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, saying his continued detention has contributed to economic disruption and tension across the South-East.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Government maintains that the sit-at-home order has inflicted heavy economic losses on the state, despite repeated assurances of improved security, and has vowed to enforce compliance to restore full economic activity.
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