The Indigenous People of Biafra has said the high level of compliance recorded during Monday’s sit-at-home across parts of the South-East shows that residents cannot be intimidated into abandoning its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The sit-at-home was declared by IPOB in solidarity with traders at the Onitsha Main Market, whose shops were recently shut by the Anambra State Government under Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
Although the state government later announced the reopening of the market after a one-week closure, commercial activities remained largely paralysed on Monday, with only a handful of traders reporting for business.
Major roads in Anambra State were largely deserted, while banks, offices and other businesses stayed closed, particularly in the morning hours. Many schools were also shut.
Reacting in a statement, IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, described the development as a “total and overwhelming compliance” across what he referred to as Biafraland.
Powerful said the outcome of the sit-at-home reflected the people’s resolve to resist intimidation and coercion, especially in their demand for the release of Kanu, who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services.
According to him, the action demonstrated the “deep love and loyalty” of the people to the IPOB leader, insisting that such support could not be broken by threats or pressure.
He added that the group remained committed to order and discipline but would continue to oppose what it described as attempts to intimidate or suppress its supporters.
“The continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu only strengthens our lawful demand for justice and freedom,” the statement said.
IPOB concluded that the sit-at-home sent a clear message that the resolve of its supporters in the South-East remained unshaken.
