Pecohub Anambra’s commercial nerve centre has become the latest front in a widening power struggle between the state government and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), placing thousands of traders in Onitsha at the centre of a high-stakes contest over authority, security, and economic survival.
Today, two outcomes appear inevitable: traders obey the outlawed yet audacious IPOB and sustain the sit-at-home order, or they reopen their shops and risk losing their means of livelihood to the Anambra State Government indefinitely.
For nearly five years, traders have consistently traded off a day’s profit for safety, complying with the Monday sit-at-home directive declared in solidarity with IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who remains in federal custody over charges bordering on treason and terrorism.
The prolonged shutdown, however, has drawn the ire of the state government, which describes it as economic sabotage. In a decisive move aimed at reclaiming control, the government shut the Onitsha Main Market for one week and threatened to extend the closure beyond February 2 should traders fail to resume business on Mondays.
In the days following the closure, Governor Chukwuma Soludo held a series of closed-door meetings with market stakeholders, underscoring the urgency of compliance and the consequences of defiance.
During the meetings, traders were informed that enforcement would hinge on compulsory attendance on Mondays, a strategy designed to identify defaulters and enforce obedience to the government’s directive.
Under the arrangement, traders who fail to comply risk losing ownership of their shops. Furthermore, officials warned that a high number of defaulters could trigger the demolition of sections of the market, followed by reconstruction under the state’s original master plan, projected to span two years.
Beyond enforcement, the government has also commenced actions against illegal structures within the market. As of February 1, several buildings and stalls had been marked for demolition.
According to government officials, the current layout of the Onitsha Main Market—one of the largest in West Africa—lacks designated parking spaces and clear vehicular access routes, deficiencies the planned redevelopment is expected to address.
These developments have heightened anxiety among traders, exposing long-suppressed fears and deepening distrust in the government’s ability to guarantee sustained security amid competing centres of authority.
