…IPOB declared a Biafra-wide solidarity strike for Monday, February 2, 2026,
ANAMBRA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has challenged South-East governors by announcing a total shutdown of economic activities across the region on Monday, in protest against the Anambra State Government’s closure of the Onitsha Main Market.
The pro-Biafran group urged traders, transport operators, banks, schools, civil servants and all sectors across Anambra, Abia, Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states and beyond to peacefully observe the solidarity lockdown.
Meanwhile, Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the immediate remodelling of the Onitsha Main Market following its one-week closure. The decision came after the governor’s recent visit to the market, where he expressed concern that the once-renowned “largest market in West Africa” had deteriorated significantly and was “literally dead.”
Soludo attributed the market’s decline to years of poor urban planning and the persistent Monday sit-at-home order enforced by IPOB. Speaking to traders and stakeholders at the Light House in Awka on Friday, the governor said studies had shown that the market was no longer fit for its original purpose.
He recalled that in the late 1970s, the market was efficiently designed with wide roads, ample parking and easy access for trucks and shoppers, a structure he said had since given way to congestion and disorder. According to him, the sit-at-home practice had effectively shut the market for over 260 days, resulting in weekly losses running into billions of naira and driving customers to neighbouring states.
Soludo described the market’s closure as a necessary but difficult step to revive the state’s economy, noting that global commerce now depends more on efficient logistics than overcrowded stalls. He added that world-class experts were commissioned in 2023 to develop a redevelopment plan for the 25-hectare market site, in line with his administration’s vision for planned and sustainable markets and cities.
Following the governor’s directive, the Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Chief Chijioke Okpalaugo, confirmed that traders support the government’s modernisation plan but requested a short grace period to secure their goods. He said traders had agreed to adopt “Option 2” from the proposals presented by the state, acknowledging that the decision was necessary for the long-term survival of the market and the economic future of Anambra State.
Earlier in the week, Soludo had ordered the market’s one-week closure during an on-site inspection, citing traders’ refusal to comply with the directive to ignore the Monday sit-at-home order. He warned that the closure could be extended if compliance was not achieved, adding that security agencies had been deployed to enforce the decision.
In response, IPOB, in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, announced a region-wide lockdown as a “direct, peaceful and unified” reaction to the governor’s action. The group condemned what it described as threats of prolonged closure, revocation of land ownership, demolitions and other punitive measures against traders who observe the sit-at-home.
IPOB declared a Biafra-wide solidarity strike for Monday, February 2, 2026, calling on all residents of the South-East to remain indoors and suspend commercial and public activities. The group said the action was a voluntary expression of solidarity with Onitsha traders and a protest against what it termed economic repression and intimidation by the state government.
The group reiterated that the Monday sit-at-home began as a peaceful protest demanding the unconditional release of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and accused the governor of attempting to suppress civil resistance at a time when international attention on the Biafra cause was increasing.
“Soludo’s actions against Onitsha traders amount to an attack on all Biafrans. This strike will deliver a clear message: an injury to one is an injury to all. Our leader’s words remain steadfast, Biafra’s liberation is close, and intimidation will not derail it.”
