Soludo Orders One-Week Closure of Onitsha Main Market Over Continued Sit-at-Home

Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week following the persistent observance of the Monday sit-at-home by traders, despite repeated government directives to resume normal business activities.

The directive was issued on Monday during the governor’s visit to the commercial hub, where he observed that a large number of shops remained shut, in defiance of assurances that markets would fully reopen. According to Soludo, the closure is part of renewed efforts by the state government to restore order, revive economic activities, and reassert state authority in the South-East.

Speaking at the market, the governor described the sit-at-home as a long-standing and deeply damaging practice that has crippled commerce and instilled fear among traders and residents.

“The enemy is the long-standing, fear-enforced Monday sit-at-home order, a ghostly mandate from non-state actors that has strangled businesses and normalised weekly shutdowns for years,” Soludo said.

He noted that despite improved security presence across the state and repeated appeals to traders to reclaim public spaces, the continued closure of shops reflected a deep-rooted climate of fear that the government could no longer tolerate.

Soludo warned that the one-week shutdown should be seen as a final opportunity for traders to make a clear decision on whether they intend to operate within the market under lawful conditions.

“You either decide that you are going to trade here or you go elsewhere. I am very serious about this,” the governor stated, adding that failure to fully reopen after the one-week closure would attract stiffer sanctions.

Following the announcement, a joint task force comprising personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and other security agencies was immediately deployed to the Onitsha Main Market to enforce the closure and maintain order throughout the period.

The government said the temporary shutdown would also be used to reassess security arrangements and engage market leadership to ensure compliance with state directives going forward.

Backstory to the sit-at-home
The Anambra State Government has intensified efforts in recent months to dismantle the long-running Monday sit-at-home directive widely attributed to non-state actors in the South-East.

Last week, the state government announced a ban on Monday school closures and ordered all education workers to resume duties without exception. According to an official circular, both teaching and non-teaching staff are required to report to work every Monday, with supervising officers directed to enforce full compliance.

The government warned that defaulters risk losing up to 20% of their monthly salaries, describing the measure as necessary to end what it called a “protracted and economically destructive” sit-at-home culture in the state.

Authorities say the decision to clamp down on school and market closures marks a turning point in Anambra’s push to normalise economic and social activities across the state.

What you should know
The Monday sit-at-home in Anambra and the wider South-East region dates back to August 2021, when the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) called on residents to stay at home every Monday as part of a civil protest demanding the release of its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is standing trial on terrorism-related charges.

Although IPOB later announced the suspension of the directive, compliance has persisted in many areas, largely driven by fear of violence and reprisals.

According to a report by SBM Intelligence, the sit-at-home shutdowns enforced across the South-East have inflicted severe economic damage, with estimated losses of about N7.6 trillion over a four-year period.

The Anambra State Government maintains that ending the practice is critical to restoring investor confidence, protecting livelihoods, and sustaining long-term economic growth in the state.

Soludo’s latest action signals a tougher stance, as the government moves from persuasion to enforcement in its bid to permanently end the sit-at-home culture.