Ejimakor made the assertion while reacting to the decision of Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to shut down the Onitsha Main Market over the continued observance of the IPOB-ordered sit-at-home by traders in the state.
Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, the Special Counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has said that no executive order or action by any government in the South-East can bring an end to the weekly Monday sit-at-home, insisting that only Kanu’s release from prison can stop the practice.
Ejimakor made the assertion while reacting to the decision of Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to shut down the Onitsha Main Market over the continued observance of the IPOB-ordered sit-at-home by traders in the state.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Governor Soludo on Monday issued a stern warning to traders in the state, insisting that they must open their shops for business from Monday to Saturday or relocate elsewhere.
The warning came on Monday, as the governor ordered the immediate closure of Onitsha Main Market for one week over traders’ continued observance of the Monday sit-at-home, despite repeated government directives abolishing the practice.
Governor Soludo took the decision during an unscheduled visit to the market, where he observed that a significant number of shops remained shut in defiance of the state government’s order lifting the sit-at-home linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Addressing the situation, the governor described the persistent closure of businesses on Mondays as unacceptable and warned that the government would no longer tolerate actions capable of undermining economic activities and public order in the state.
He stressed that traders must either comply fully with the government’s directive by operating their businesses throughout the official workweek or vacate the state, adding that further sanctions would be imposed on markets that continue to defy the order.
Addressing traders, journalists, and security officials at the scene, Soludo warned that the state government would no longer tolerate partial compliance with its policy on full economic activities from Monday to Saturday.
He had also announced that the market would remain shut for the rest of the week and reopen the following Monday, stressing that traders who fail to resume business on that day would face tougher sanctions.
Reacting to the action of the governor, Ejimakor, in a post shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, described the sit-at-home as a reflection of the deep-seated grievances of the Igbo people over the continued imprisonment of the IPOB leader.
"This truth is self-evident: The Monday Sit-At-Home in South-East is the best evidence of how unhappy Ndigbo are over the travails of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and it will persist until he’s freed,” he wrote.
Ejimakor further argued that the protest had reached a stage where administrative or executive directives would no longer be effective in halting it.
"And this: The #Sit-At-Home has reached a point where no Executive Order can end it; but it will end instantly on its own once Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is freed,” Ejimakor added.
Nnamdi Kanu was held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) from 2021 to 2025 when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged terrorism, and subsequently to Sokoto Maximium prison.
The development has continued to generate political and social tensions across the South-East region of Nigeria and beyond.