Anambra Braces for Monday Market Reopening Amid IPOB Sit-at-Home Tensions

Traders and officials in Anambra are preparing for a tense Monday as Onitsha Main Market gears up to reopen despite threats from the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) calling for a regional sit-at-home.

IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Friday urged traders, transporters, schools, banks, and civil servants across the Southeast to observe a “peaceful solidarity sit-at-home.” The group framed the order as a protest against Governor Charles Soludo’s week-long closure of the market, describing it as an attempt to suppress peaceful civil disobedience over the ongoing detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

In response, the state government has taken a firm stance. Anambra Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, described the enforcement of the sit-at-home as increasingly criminal and warned that markets and shops would remain open on all working days. Mefor emphasized that those pressuring traders to comply are largely non-indigenes and that “extreme measures” would follow any defiance.

At a Friday meeting in Awka with market leaders, Governor Soludo addressed the long-standing Monday closures and instructed that trading must resume. Mr. Chijioke Okpalugo, Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, pledged that traders would reopen and requested a visible security presence to safeguard customers and shop owners.

Audio recordings obtained by SK Blog from the meeting confirm agreements reached on Monday’s reopening. Attendance registers will be introduced for all market lines, and traders who fail to comply may risk losing their shops. Soludo also announced plans to redevelop the market over three years, adhering to the original master plan.

Market leaders urged traders to comply, warning that local government officials would supervise attendance, and noncompliance could extend the closure further.

Dr. Mefor reinforced that traders who ignore reopening directives would be identified and sanctioned. “Every shop must be opened. If it is not, you are a saboteur,” he said. Security forces, including the army, police, and civil defense units, will monitor the market, and shops belonging to persistent defaulters may be revoked. Mefor dismissed claims of insecurity, noting that the market has its own armed security team of 150 agents.

While the government adopts a strict enforcement approach, local leaders have urged caution. Prof. Awuzie Unachukwu, President of the Ala-Igbo Development Foundation, warned that sanctions could heighten insecurity and economic hardship, arguing that visible security measures would reassure traders. He emphasized the importance of life over economic concerns, noting that fear has already limited Monday commerce across the Southeast.

Alex Ogbonnia, former National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, urged an end to the sit-at-home, describing it as a decade-long disruption to the region’s economy. He emphasized that dialogue with IPOB had repeatedly failed and called for a political resolution to Kanu’s case.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command said it has deployed sufficient security to prevent disorder and encouraged residents to continue their activities peacefully.

As Monday approaches, the reopening of Onitsha Main Market will test the balance between government authority, security enforcement, and compliance with IPOB’s call, with traders caught in the middle of a longstanding regional dispute.