Traders at the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State resumed business on Monday after a one-week closure ordered by the state government.
The reopening followed a directive by Gov. Chukwuma Soludo, accompanied by heightened security and renewed warnings against compliance with what authorities described as illegal sit-at-home orders linked to the banned Indigenous People of Biafra.
Soludo had ordered the market shut after reports that some traders observed a Monday sit-at-home allegedly associated with the group. He warned that failure to comply with the reopening directive could lead to further closures.
Channels Television reported that traders reopened their shops in line with the governor’s directive. The broadcaster said a visit to the market showed activity resuming as early as 8:45 a.m., with traders displaying goods in key sections of the market, including Egerton, Ose Foodstuff Market and Young Park.
Commercial activity was also reported around Emeka Offor Plaza, Sokoto Road, Lagos Line and Marine areas, as customers gradually returned. “It is clear that the traders are complying with government directives to ignore the sit-at-home order,” the report added. Earlier, the proscribed IPOB had announced a region-wide lockdown across the South-East, claiming it was in solidarity with Onitsha traders.
Through its spokesman, Emma Powerful, the group called on traders, transport operators, banks, schools, and civil servants to observe the strike peacefully. However, IPOB’s legal counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, dismissed the alleged lockdown order, describing it as “a fake” and “a calculated falsehood,” while urging the public to disregard it. He noted that IPOB had consistently disassociated itself from sit-at-home directives.
