The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has directed traders and shop owners at the Onitsha Main Market to resume business on Tuesday, defying Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s directive to close the market for one week.
Governor Soludo had ordered the closure on Monday following traders’ failure to comply with the state’s previous instruction to disregard the Monday sit-at-home order.
He warned that the shutdown could be extended if traders continued to defy the government, noting that security agencies had sealed the market to enforce the closure.
Describing the closure as the latest—and perhaps most drastic, move in a prolonged struggle over control of economic life in the South-East, Soludo emphasised the government’s authority to ensure compliance.
However, IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful countered in a statement late Monday, insisting that the state had no authority over the traders’ businesses and calling for the unconditional release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu.
“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. This action is not in defiance of any gubernatorial order but in the exercise of their God-given right to pursue their daily livelihoods according to their preferences and necessities,” the statement read.
Powerful highlighted the resilience of the traders, noting that they received no state support during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
He added, “Our people endured a three-year food blockade during the Nigeria-Biafra War and emerged as the most entrepreneurial ethnic group in Africa, as well as the most successful immigrant community in the United States.”
“Our fathers liberated Nigeria from colonial rule, our ancestors liberated Haiti from colonial oppression, and in the creeks of Savannah, Georgia, we Igbos chose death over enslavement—a legacy chronicled in Alex Haley’s ‘Roots,’ where our ancestors from Onitsha drowned themselves rather than submit to man-made slavery and bondage.”
Powerful warned that any attempt to stop traders from reopening would be met with resistance, but emphasised that IPOB was not seeking confrontation with the state government.
“Governor Soludo, you cannot defeat our collective spirit of resistance; history teaches us that. Any arrests, harassment, or bloodshed will signal the beginning of the end for those who oppose the will of the people,” he stated.
He concluded, “Tomorrow, our markets shall open, and no force on earth can prevent it. The Federal Government of Nigeria must heed this call and release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu without further delay to restore peace and normalcy in the South-East.”
DAILY GAZETTE had earlier reported that Soludo ordered the Onitsha Main Market closed for one week after traders again defied directives to resume business on Mondays, citing lingering fear in the region despite assurances of improved security.
