Onitsha Main Market, regarded as one of the largest commercial centres in West Africa, has been shut down, leaving traders stranded in front of their locked shops under tight security surveillance.

The market, situated in Onitsha, Anambra State, and estimated to generate daily transactions worth about $8 billion, is expected to remain closed until February 2.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo ordered the closure on Sunday following the continued observance of a sit-at-home protest that has lasted for about five years in parts of the state and across the South-East.

 

e The sit-at-home action is being observed by traders in solidarity with the prolonged detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing charges related to treason and terrorism.

 

Governor Soludo had earlier described the sit-at-home as an act of economic sabotage and directed traders to resume business on Mondays or risk an indefinite shutdown of the market. However, IPOB countered the governor’s position, urging traders to continue their normal commercial activities.

 

To assess the situation, THE WHISTLER visited Onitsha Main Market on Tuesday and observed barricades mounted at major entry and exit points leading into the business areas.

 

Despite the governor’s directive, many traders turned up, unaware that a heavy security presence had been deployed across the market.

 

While some traders stood watching police patrol vehicles—one officer was seen holding a tear gas canister—others sat in small groups, discussing the financial losses they were incurring as a result of the closure.

 

One of the traders, Christopher Anene, a phone dealer at Emeka Offor Market in his 40s, said he stood to lose at least ₦80,000 in profit on Tuesday alone and up to ₦400,000 for the week if the shutdown persisted.

 

Speaking to THE WHISTLER, Anene explained that traders were not deliberately defying the government but were protesting what they considered an injustice.

 

“The reason we are sitting here today without doing any business is because Governor Soludo is angry. He came here on Monday and didn’t see many traders,” he said.

 

“But we all know how hard things are in this country. We are hoping for improvement, then the government jails one of our own. We chose one day out of seven to show our solidarity.

 

“This sit-at-home is because of Nnamdi Kanu. We are appealing to the government to open the market. Soludo should remember that the man in prison is our brother, a human being like him.

 

“Even if my family and I go hungry today, I don’t care. I will not come to the market on Monday. If Soludo wants, he can extend the closure by one month,” he added.

 

Several other traders shared similar sentiments, insisting they would not be pressured into resuming business on Mondays despite the closure order.

 

Some traders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said insecurity remained the major reason many traders stayed away from the market on Mondays, citing reports of kidnappings and killings allegedly linked to violations of the sit-at-home order.

 

“Will the governor provide this level of security every Monday like today?” one trader asked rhetorically.

 

“We will not risk coming on Mondays,” several traders responded in agreement.

 

Despite the deployment of security personnel, many traders remained seated beside their locked shops.

 

Security agencies, led by a senior officer who declined to be named, were seen addressing the visibly frustrated traders, whose expressions reflected anxiety over their means of survival for the week.

 

The officer urged the traders to leave the market peacefully to prevent any breakdown of order and advised them to stay at home until Thursday, pending a possible resolution between the state government and market authorities.

While a few traders complied and left the premises, many others remained within the market environment, moving around and waiting in the hope that the security personnel would eventually withdraw and allow trading to resume.

As of press time, the surrounding areas remained calm, with traders still seated in front of their closed shops, uncertain about when business activities would resume.