IPOB directs reopening of Onitsha market despite Soludo’s closure order

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has directed traders and shop owners at the Onitsha Main Market to resume business on Tuesday, despite Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s order shutting the market for one week beginning Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, Soludo ordered the closure of the market after traders reportedly failed to comply with the state government’s directive to ignore the Monday sit-at-home order.

The governor gave the directive during an on-the-spot assessment of the market, accompanied by government officials and aides.

Soludo warned that the closure could be extended if traders continued to defy the directive, adding that security agencies had sealed the market to enforce compliance. He described the situation as part of an ongoing struggle to restore normal economic activities in the South-East.

However, in a statement issued late on Monday, IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful said the group had instructed traders in Anambra State to reopen their shops and markets on Tuesday. He stressed that the order was not intended as an act of defiance against the state government but an exercise of the people’s right to earn a living.

“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,” the statement 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 according to their preferences and necessities.”

Powerful argued that the state did not provide financial support to traders during the COVID-19 lockdowns and insisted that their resilience could not be broken. He also renewed IPOB’s call on the Federal Government to release its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, as a pathway to restoring peace and stability in the region.

The IPOB spokesman warned against any attempt to use security operatives to prevent traders from reopening, stating that arrests, harassment, or intimidation would be resisted. He added that IPOB was not seeking confrontation with the Anambra State Government but demanded respect for the will of the people.

Powerful further declared that markets in Anambra would open as directed by IPOB, insisting that no force could stop the people from carrying out their daily economic activities. He concluded by urging the Federal Government to unconditionally release Nnamdi Kanu to restore normalcy in the South-East.