The Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB has dared the governors of the South-East, declaring a complete lockdown of all economic activities across the region on Monday to protest the closure of the Onitsha Main Market by the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
The pro-Biafran group called on traders, transporters, banks, schools, civil servants and every sector across Anambra, Abia, Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states, and beyond, to observe the solidarity lockdown peacefully.
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Meanwhile, Soludo has ordered the immediate remodelling of the market following the one-week closure.
The directive followed the governor’s last visit to the market, where he lamented that the once-famed “biggest market in West Africa” had collapsed into a shadow of its old self, adding that the market was “literally dead.”
Soludo lamented the market’s decline, citing the devastating impact of the Monday sit-at-home order by IPOB and decades of poor urban planning.
Addressing stakeholders and traders at the Light House, Awka, on Friday, Soludo said, *“The Onitsha Main Market, in its current state, is no longer functional. We have done the study. The main market is no longer what it was designed to be. It has literally died.
“I recall a time in the late 70s when the market was a model of efficiency, with wide streets allowing trucks and shoppers to move freely. Today, that layout has been replaced by chaos. If people cannot park, they cannot shop. In the late 70s, trucks used to drive into the market; massive parking spaces were provided. Today, that is gone.”
According to the governor, a major catalyst for the shutdown was persistent adherence to the Monday sit-at-home order.
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He noted that the market has been effectively shut down for over 260 days since the sit-at-home ritual began, with billions of naira lost each week and customers driven to alternative markets in neighbouring states.
“Leadership requires taking inconvenient steps to secure the future. The closure of the market is a corrective measure to reclaim the state’s economic life.
“The state commissioned world-renowned experts in 2023 to draft a rebuilding plan for the market’s resurrection — a vision for the 25-hectare site. This is in recognition that the future of global commerce lies in efficient logistics rather than just tiny stalls.
“Therefore, the remodelling efforts align with my manifesto to create planned and sustainable markets, communities, and cities. At this point, leadership beckons on us to take those inconvenient steps to secure the future,” Soludo added.
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Following the executive directive by Soludo regarding the redevelopment of the Onitsha Main Market, the Chairman of the market, Chief Chijioke Okpalaugo, confirmed the traders’ alignment with the government’s vision for a modernised market, while requesting a brief window to secure their inventory.
Okpalaugo said, “After careful consideration of the proposals presented by the state government for the revitalisation of our market, we, the leadership and traders of Onitsha Main Market, officially announce that we have chosen ‘Option 2’ as the preferred path forward.“We recognise that leadership requires difficult choices, and we accept this path for the ultimate good of Ndị Anambra and the survival of our iconic market. We are committed to the vision of a planned, sustainable, and accessible market that can once again compete on a global stage.”Soludo had, on Monday, ordered the closure of the market for one week following traders’ failure to comply with the state government’s directive to disregard the Monday sit-at-home order.
The governor gave the directive during an on-site visit to the market, alongside some of his aides and other government officials.
Soludo warned that the closure could be extended if traders failed to comply with the directive, adding that security agencies had sealed the market to enforce the order.
But IPOB, in a statement on Friday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the total shutdown across the South-East was a direct, peaceful, and unified response to the actions of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who shut down the market for one week.
Powerful said the move to further shut down the market for one month, revoke land ownership, carry out demolitions, and impose other punitive measures if traders continued their observance of Monday sit-at-home could not be tolerated.
The statement read in part: “The Indigenous People of Biafra, under the resolute and prophetic leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hereby declares a Biafra-wide solidarity strike — a complete lockdown of all economic activities across Igboland and wider Biafran territories — on Monday, February 2, 2026.
“This total shutdown across Biafraland is a direct, peaceful, and unified response to the tyrannical actions of Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo, who has shut down the Onitsha Main Market for one week and threatened further month-long closures, revocation of land ownership, demolition, and punitive repurposing if traders continue their legitimate observance of Monday sit-at-home in solidarity with our unjustly imprisoned leader.
“This strike is not enforcement; it is a voluntary, collective expression of outrage and solidarity with the hardworking traders of Onitsha, whose livelihoods are now under direct assault by a governor who has chosen to act as an enforcer for anti-Biafran interests rather than a servant of his people.
“Soludo’s closure of Africa’s largest market, coupled with his reckless threats to revoke allocations and rebuild in ‘public interest,’ is economic warfare against Biafrans. It is designed to break the spirit of peaceful civil disobedience that has highlighted the injustice of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s continued detention despite sham proceedings.”
The group reminded Soludo that the Monday sit-at-home originated as a peaceful protest demanding the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
It added: “Soludo’s escalation only exposes his desperation to provoke confrontation at a time when Biafra’s international profile is rising and diplomatic efforts are gaining traction.
“On Monday, February 2, 2026, we call on all Biafrans — traders, transporters, banks, schools, civil servants, and every sector across Anambra, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, and beyond — to observe this solidarity strike peacefully.
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“Remain indoors, refrain from all commercial and public activities, and demonstrate to the world our disciplined resolve. This is not about disruption for its own sake; it is about standing with Onitsha traders who are being punished for demanding justice and reaffirming that no governor can coerce free citizens into abandoning their rights or their solidarity.
“Soludo’s war on Onitsha traders is a war on all Biafrans. This strike will send a clear message: Touch one, touch all. Our leader’s prophecy endures — Biafra’s liberation is near, and no amount of intimidation will stop it.”