Banks, Schools, and Markets Close as South-East Complies with Two-Day Sit-At-Home

A two-day sit-at-home order, beginning on Monday and ending on Tuesday, has crippled economic activities across the southeastern states of Nigeria.

Since Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested in June 2021, residents of the region have been observing sit-at-home every Monday.

While adherence to the recurring sit-at-home order has varied across the region, videos and voice notes circulating on social media for over two weeks warned residents to stay indoors on October 21 and 22, sparking massive compliance.

In Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, videos and pictures sent by a resident, who pleaded for anonymity, show deserted roads and streets. Although traders in Ariaria Market—one of the largest daily markets in West Africa—have been observing the Monday sit-at-home, some left the city due to the new threats.

“As I am speaking to you now, I am not in Aba,” a shoemaker in Ariaria told Neusroom over the phone.

“I had to leave with my family and travel to the village,” he added.

In Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, and Owerri, the capital of Imo State, both public and private organizations are complying with the order.

“There is no concrete reason for the two-day order,” a resident of Umuahia said, explaining that most people are complying out of fear.

Promise, a student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, (FUTO), told Neusroom that lectures have been canceled for the next two days.

However, IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, denied that the group was responsible for the order.

“IPOB did not declare any sit-at-home order on October 21 and 22. The illegal order is from criminal elements and Finland-based infiltrators who are not our members,” he told Punch Newspapers.

“We urge our people to ignore the order and go about their normal business on those days. IPOB does not want to dwell on the matter to avoid creating panic,” he added.

Simon Ekpa, a self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile, claimed that the sit-at-home order was only for Monday.

“I will be on X space this afternoon to clear the air on the lies about sit-at-home tomorrow. The person who invoked Biafra Government in the video has been warned. There is no sit-at-home tomorrow,” Ekpa said.

Although the sit-at-home order in the region has been ongoing for over four years, attempts Governors in the region has failed to produce results.

Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Anambra, had given an ultimatum for the recurring sit-at-home to end, arguing that the Southeast loses N19.6 billion every Monday due to it. Yet, residents continue to observe the order, majorly due to fear.