The governor of Anambra, a southeastern state in Nigeria, is at loggerheads with the state’s trading community over the closure of the largest informal market in Nigeria. 

The governor, Prof Charles Soludo, a trained economist and professor, ordered a 7-day shutdown of the Onitsha main market following a civil disobedience act by traders in solidarity with the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nigeria’s separatist movement. 

A federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, convicted Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB’s leader, on charges of terrorism and incitement, sentencing him to life in prison. 

The outcome of the four-year legal process intensified separatist sentiments in the eastern region of the country, fueling more support for a Monday sit-in at home exercise in solidarity for the IPOB leader. 

The sit-at-home exercise practically converted Monday into an extension of the weekend, halting normal activities across major cities in the region. Banks, Schools, Markets, and Private businesses all observed this extra work-free day, affecting government revenue and slowing down the local economy by reducing the number of workdays. 

The state government, led by Governor Soludo, has tried several times to halt the development. This week, the governor finally decided to use force, forcing the shutdown of the market yesterday with the help of the Nigerian military and Police. 

Yesterday, the seven-day shutdown of the Onitsha market sparked separatist rallies in the commercial city. The order reignited the pressure by residents for the release of the IPOB leader, who is currently in a Sokoto correctional facility 

Origin of Crisis 

The weekly Monday sit-at-home exercise is currently in its third year, starting long before the IPOB leader was officially sentenced in November last year. 

Members of the IPOB started the civil disobedience movement to protest the detention of their leader following his kidnapping and extradition from Kenya in 2021. 

Kanu was detained for nearly five years following a lengthy legal process that ended on November 20th, 2025, with a life imprisonment sentence. 

Long before his sentence, the IPOB community in Nigeria started the Monday Sit at Home exercise, ordering the shutdown of schools, markets, and private ventures in the state. 

The separatist group’s civil disobedience order was followed by partial compliance from the general public. 

This lasted for months until armed non-state actors started attacking citizens, defying the order, and killing some of them. The violent development led to full compliance as people feared for their lives following the absence of security on Mondays. 

The kidnapping and disappearance of the Mgbuka Scrapyard market chairman added to the growing fears of the people, resulting in even more compliance. 

Despite efforts by the Anambra government to restore confidence in the security of the people. The people are not bulged and continue to sit at home on Mondays. 

People who genuinely care about their safety and staunch supporters of the IPOB movement found a common enemy in the state government and continued to engage in the civil disobedience campaign. 

It remains to be seen how the state government’s new approach will pan out. 

Nigerians React and Debate on the Pending Crisis 

Following the executive order, a heated debate followed Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one-week shutdown of the Onitsha Main Market. 

The governor’s move divided public opinion between those calling for the restoration of state authority and those decrying the economic strangulation of the masses.

Supporters of the governor argued that the sit-at-home culture has become a cancer on the Southeastern economy, with the state reportedly losing ₦8 billion per week. 

On X, hashtags like #SoludoMeansBusiness trended as users praised his new approach, claiming that only a show of force can break the psychological hold of non-state actors. 

They argued that traders staying home are aiding and abetting the decline of the region’s commercial hub.

Conversely, a massive wave of backlash characterised the closure as tone-deaf and punitive.

Some Traders noted they stayed home out of fear of violent reprisals, not out of loyalty to the sit-at-home order. They argued that the government should provide security on the routes to the market, not just at the market gates

Analysts pointed out that the shutdown hits the poorest, loaders, apprentices, and retail women who survive on daily income, while the enforcers of the sit-at-home remain untouched.

The standoff between the two entities underscores a deep trust deficit, as Nigerians wait to see whether the new approach will reclaim Mondays or simply deepen the regional economic crisis.