Sit-at-home: Our people can’t be coerced into abandoning Nnamdi Kanu — IPOB hails ‘total compliance’

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the widespread compliance with Monday’s sit-at-home order as proof of the South-East’s unwavering loyalty to its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu. The group asserted that the successful shutdown across various states serves as a clear message that residents will not be coerced into abandoning their struggle for justice.

The lockdown was specifically called in solidarity with traders at the Onitsha Main Market, which had been closed for a week by Governor Chukwuma Soludo. Although the state government officially reopened the market for business on Monday, February 2, reports indicate that most stalls remained shuttered as traders chose to observe the IPOB-declared strike instead.

“The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu, hereby declares a Biafra-wide solidarity strike, a complete lockdown of all economic activities across Igboland and wider Biafran territories, on Monday, February 2, 2026,” the group’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, had previously announced. Following the event, he praised the “total compliance” as a victory for the movement.

Across Anambra and parts of neighboring states, the exercise resulted in deserted roads, closed schools, and the suspension of commercial banking activities during the morning hours. IPOB maintained that the silence in the streets was a voluntary expression of outrage against Governor Soludo’s “economic warfare” and the continued incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu.

The Anambra State Government had attempted to counter the order by threatening civil servants with a “no work, no pay” policy and promising maximum security for those who ventured out. However, the empty markets and quiet transport hubs suggests that the group’s influence remains a potent force in the region’s socio-economic life.

IPOB further stated that the shutdown was not a sign of aggression but a disciplined display of collective resolve. The group insisted that the people of the South-East are unified in their demand for Kanu’s release, particularly following his life imprisonment sentence handed down in late 2025, which he is currently appealing.

As the region gradually resumes activities, the sit-at-home has reignited the debate over the economic toll of these protests, which the state government estimates costs Anambra alone roughly ₦8 billion weekly. For IPOB, however, the day’s events reaffirmed their position that the “Biafran people” remain committed to their cause despite government pressure.