Onitsha Main Market Traders Defy Closure, Praise Nnamdi Kanu as Security Seals Market

Traders at the bustling Onitsha Main Market staged protests on Monday, singing praises for IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, after security agents prevented them from accessing the market following a state government shutdown.

The closure was ordered by Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, who directed that the market remain closed for one week after traders failed to open their shops on Monday in compliance with a sit-at-home order issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The directive is part of a regional protest in solidarity with the incarcerated IPOB leader. Despite the shutdown, many traders marched and chanted songs such as, “Holy, holy, holy, Nnamdi Kanu is another saviour”, signaling their defiance and support for the IPOB leader. Some attempted to open shops in protest, prompting heavy deployment of security personnel, including police and army officers, to enforce the governor’s closure order Governor Soludo, emphasizing the economic consequences of recurring sit-at-home directives, warned that persistent defiance could extend the market closure beyond one week. Authorities say such disruptions cost the state and the South-East region billions of naira weekly, threatening livelihoods and commerce. IPOB, however, has rebuffed the government’s action, urging traders to ignore the closure and continue business as usual. The group reiterated calls for Kanu’s release, asserting that the sit-at-home is a peaceful civic protest and part of the people’s right to express dissent.