Market Closure: IPOB Dares Soludo, Declares Monday Sit-at-home In Southeast

THE Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dared Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, by declared Monday, February 2, a sit-at-home in the entire Southeast states of Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo.
IPOB expressed solidarity with traders at the Onitsha Main Market, which was shut by Soludo for one week on Monday, January 25, for failure to heed government directive to disregard the sit-at-home order declared by IPOB on July 30, 2021 and open for business.
In a statement on Friday, January 29, IPOB accused Soludo of working with “Abuja collaborators” to undermine the rights of Igbo traders and the Biafran self-determination movement.
It declared a “Biafra-wide solidarity strike” on Monday, urging a total shutdown of economic activities across the Southeast on February 2.
According to a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful: “The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of 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 action is a direct response to the closure of the Onitsha Main Market by the Anambra State governor and threats of further punitive measures against traders for observing the Monday sit-at-home.
“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.”
The separatist group described the market closure as an attack on traders’ livelihoods, insisting its sit-at-home was a voluntary act of solidarity and not enforced by the group.
IPOB counselled residents of the Southeast to remain indoors on the said date and refrain from commercial activities, and supporters to conduct themselves peacefully and lawfully, noting: “On Monday, February 2, 2026, we call on all Biafrans across Anambra, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and beyond to observe this solidarity strike peacefully.”
It restated its demand for Kanu’s unconditional release, accusing the Anambra State Government of escalating tensions through “economic intimidation” of traders.