IPOB Raises Concerns Over Conflicting Reports on Onitsha Sit-at-Home

• IPOB has accused authorities of spreading propaganda over the sit-at-home observed in Onitsha and across the South-East, insisting that markets and public institutions were largely shut in solidarity with affected traders.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused government authorities and political actors of spreading misinformation following the sit-at-home observed in Onitsha and other parts of the South-East in solidarity with traders of Onitsha Main Market.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, IPOB said there was widespread compliance with the sit-at-home directive in the early hours of the day, with markets shut and streets largely deserted across major towns in the region. According to the group, the shutdown extended to public institutions, including schools, banks and government offices.

IPOB alleged that despite what it described as visible compliance across the South-East, efforts were made to project a contrary narrative through what it called a coordinated propaganda campaign. The group claimed that images and reports suggesting that markets were open were staged, insisting that shops in Onitsha Main Market remained locked for most of the day.

The statement further questioned recent threats by Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to sanction traders who failed to open their shops, arguing that such threats contradicted claims that business activities had resumed normally.

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While reaffirming that its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, had previously suspended enforced sit-at-home actions, IPOB said the latest development was driven by solidarity and resistance to intimidation rather than coercion. The group warned that actions taken against traders in Onitsha could set a dangerous precedent for the treatment of Igbo businesses elsewhere in the country.

The statement, signed by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful, concluded that the sit-at-home demonstrated what it described as unity among the people of the South-East, insisting that attempts to suppress or misrepresent the situation had failed.