IPOB Asks Anambra Traders to Reopen Shops Despite Soludo’s Market Closure Order

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on traders in Anambra State to resume business activities and reopen shops and markets on Tuesday, despite a directive by Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo ordering the temporary closure of the Onitsha Main Market.

In a statement dated January 26 and signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB said the decision to reopen markets represents what it described as the will of traders and residents across the state. The group maintained that opening shops is an exercise of the right to livelihood and not an attempt to challenge the authority of the state government.

IPOB urged Governor Soludo to respect the position of traders, arguing that most Igbo-owned businesses were built without government support. The group referenced past economic hardships, including the COVID-19 lockdown, to highlight what it described as the resilience of traders in the region.

The group also warned the Anambra State Government against enforcing the closure through security operations, cautioning that arrests, harassment, or violence could lead to wider consequences. It stated, however, that it does not seek confrontation with the state government and expects markets to be allowed to operate freely.

IPOB linked the continued observance of sit-at-home actions in parts of the Southeast to the detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and renewed its call for his unconditional release. According to the group, Kanu’s release would help restore peace and stabilize economic activities in the region.

“Tomorrow, our markets shall open,” the statement read, adding that traders should not be prevented from conducting their businesses.

Governor Soludo had on Monday ordered the closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week after observing low turnout by traders during an unscheduled visit to the market. The governor said many shop owners were still complying with the Monday sit-at-home, despite repeated government directives lifting the practice.

Addressing traders, journalists, and security officials at the market, Soludo warned that the state would no longer accept partial compliance with its policy mandating full economic activities from Monday to Saturday. He announced that the market would reopen the following Monday and cautioned that traders who failed to resume business thereafter would face stricter sanctions.