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By Sunny A. David, Awka
The lead counsel of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, and the Anambra State chapter of the African Action Congress (AAC) have separately condemned the continued enforcement of the Monday sit-at-home and the recent closure of the Onitsha Main Market, describing both as unjustified and harmful to law abiding citizens.
Ejiofor, reacting to the shutdown of the market, stated that the Monday sit-at-home has no authority, legitimacy, or justification legal, moral, or otherwise insisting that the directive was formally and unequivocally cancelled by IPOB long ago.
According to him, any continued enforcement of the sit-at-home is a criminal act carried out by lawless elements who have hijacked a non-existent directive and now sustain it through fear, intimidation, extortion, and violence.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the sit-at-home was expressly and categorically cancelled by IPOB. From that moment, it ceased to exist in law, in logic, and in moral persuasion,” Ejiofor said.
“What followed was not civil disobedience or ideological resistance, but a criminal resurrection of a dead directive, grotesquely distorted and violently enforced by lawless elements led by Simon Ekpa.”
He emphasized that the violence associated with the sit-at-home does not represent any IPOB policy, describing it as a “parasitic enterprise” that feeds on terrorizing innocent citizens.
Ejiofor further criticized the closure of the Onitsha Main Market, warning that collective punishment of traders and residents many of whom are already victims of fear cannot be justified as a security measure.
“Security governance must be intelligence-driven and targeted at the real perpetrators of violence. Shutting down an economic nerve centre punishes productivity while emboldening criminality,” he said.
Similarly, the Anambra State chapter of the African Action Congress (AAC) strongly condemned Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s decision to close the Onitsha Main Market, describing it as unacceptable and insensitive to the welfare of traders and residents.
In a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Surv. Chinedu Anthony, the party questioned the rationale behind closing businesses instead of addressing the root causes of insecurity.
“While politicians move around with armed escorts, the common man is left exposed. Is it fair to punish traders for the state’s security failures?” the statement asked.
AAC argued that shutting markets would not curb crime, stressing that effective policing, intelligence gathering, and community engagement are the real solutions to insecurity.
The party called on the state government to immediately reopen the market, prioritize the safety of all citizens—not just political office holders—and engage stakeholders before taking actions that threaten livelihoods.
“We stand with traders and residents. Their welfare matters,” the statement concluded.
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