The Anambra State government’s recent decision to lift the Monday sit-at-home order imposed by the Indigenous People of Biafra has sparked tension across the state.
The unrest appears linked to widespread local sympathy for IPOB’s “civil disobedience” and the group’s open resistance to the government’s directive.
Following an executive retreat last week, the state government officially abolished the Monday sit-at-home, instructing workers and businesses to resume activities on Mondays.
Authorities also warned that violators would face sanctions. Additionally, the government pledged to establish a task force to enforce the directive.
Observers have long associated repeated sit-at-home disruptions with economic and fiscal challenges in the South-East. Anambra State had proposed a N757 billion budget for 2026, the smallest in the region, of which N60 billion, roughly 12.7 percent, is expected to come from internal revenue.
Many analysts have expressed doubts over the state’s ability to achieve its fiscal targets if Monday closures continue.
In response to the government’s announcement, IPOB described the sit-at-home as a “civil disobedience,” emphasizing that no governor has the legal authority to force citizens to operate their businesses or move freely against their will.
The group warned that any task force targeting those who continue to observe the sit-at-home would constitute an illegal provocation.
In a statement released yesterday, IPOB said Governor Chukwuma Soludo—or any other governor, has no power to compel the people against their will, particularly when their actions are peaceful and non-violent.
The statement, signed by IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary Emma Powerful, cautioned Soludo against threatening Ndi Anambra and Ndi Igbo, asserting that the people are not his enemies and that his duty is to protect, not punish, them.
It further urged the governor to recognise “the elementary democratic principle called ‘civil disobedience, a peaceful refusal to cooperate with policies and conditions viewed as unjust.’”
IPOB stated, “If businessmen, traders, students, professionals, elders and youths voluntarily choose to sit at home on Mondays as a silent protest against the continued detention and persecution of Nnamdi Kanu, that is their right. It is not a crime. It is not rebellion. It is not an offence.”
