IPOB Directs Onitsha Main Market Traders To Reopen As Soludo Enforces One-Week Closure
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has instructed traders and shop owners at the Onitsha Main Market to reopen for business on Tuesday, in spite of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s directive shutting the market for one week. Governor Soludo had earlier on Monday ordered the closure after traders allegedly failed to comply with the state government’s instruction to ignore the Monday sit-at-home order. The directive was issued during the governor’s visit to the market, accompanied by senior government officials and security agencies. He warned that the shutdown could be extended if traders continued to disregard government directives, noting that security operatives had sealed the market to ensure compliance. Soludo described the action as part of efforts to restore normal economic activities in the state. However, IPOB, in a statement released late Monday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, told traders across Anambra State to resume their legitimate businesses on Tuesday. He said the group’s directive was based on the people’s right to pursue their livelihoods and not an attempt to challenge the authority of the state government. “The IPOB hereby declares that tomorrow, January 27, 2026, our people in Anambra State shall resume their legitimate business activities and open their shops and markets,” Powerful said. “This action is not in defiance of any gubernatorial order but in the exercise of their God-given right to pursue their daily livelihoods.” Powerful also renewed IPOB’s call on the Federal Government to immediately release the group’s detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that his freedom would help restore peace and stability in the South-East. He warned that any arrest, harassment, or intimidation of traders attempting to reopen their shops would be resisted, stressing that IPOB was not seeking confrontation with the Anambra State Government but demanded respect for the wishes of the people. The group insisted that markets in Anambra would open on Tuesday, declaring that no force could prevent residents from carrying out their economic activities.
