ONITSHA TRADERS REOPEN SHOPS AFTER SOLUDO THREATS

Traders at the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State have resumed business operations after a week-long closure, following directives from Governor Chukwuma Soludo to defy non-state actors’ sit-at-home orders and reopen their shops. The move marks a return to normal commercial activity in one of Nigeria’s busiest markets. 

The market had been shut by the state government after many traders adhered to a Monday sit-at-home call linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which had repeatedly disrupted economic activity in the region. Governor Soludo had warned traders that continued closures would lead to sanctions and extended shutdowns. 

In announcing the reopening, the Anambra State government assured traders and residents of increased security presence to safeguard market activities, urging them to ignore any threats and return to work. Officials reiterated that the earlier one-week closure period had lapsed and that normal trade was expected to resume. 

Observers reported early Monday morning activity across key sections of the market, with traders setting up their wares and customers beginning to patronise shops, signalling a strong compliance with government directives and a break from the enforced shutdown pattern. 

The reopening reflects ongoing tensions between the state government’s efforts to maintain economic normalcy and non-state actors’ push to enforce the sit-at-home, highlighting the broader struggle over market compliance and public order in the Southeast.