IPOB's Sit-At-Home: Soludo Shuts Down Onitsha Main Market

By CHUKS Collins, Awka

 Jan 26,2026

The Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the immediate closure of the popular Onitsha Main Market. The move, according to government sources was to enforce compliance with the governor's earlier directive against the controversial Mondays sit-at-home order/closure of the market on the order and threats of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.

Prof Soludo ordered the immediate shutdown/sealing of the Onitsha main market for one week in the first instance but also threatened to seal the market indefinitely if the need arises.

The governor's action follows repeated disregard to his directive against IPOB's Sit-At-Home order on Mondays for some years now. Market associations leaderships in the various markets in the state had appeared to listened more to the faceless non-state actors instead of the governor who had cautioned them stop the Sit-At-Home order or face the consequences.

The Mondays sit-at-home order, which has disrupted economic, commercial and social activities across the South East geopolitical zone at huge economic cost for years, was publicly condemned by the Soludo administration.

The governor had called on citizens to jettison the order and urged residents to go about their normal lawful activities without fear of any form of molestation.

Gov Soludo emphasized that if the traders don't comply fully with his directive and open at the expiration of the shut down, the market will be shut down for one month or more. He also pointed out that the closure became necessary to protect law-abiding citizens and reinforce the authority of the government.

He insisted that the government cannot stand by and watch while a few individuals willfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy.

Security personnel, including the police, army among others, were immediately deployed to seal the market gates and ensure full and immediate compliance.