The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced the permanent cancellation of the Monday sit-at-home across the South-East, following a directive from its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, with effect from February 9, 2026.
The announcement was made on Sunday in a statement issued by the group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, who said the order came directly from Kanu.
IPOB had introduced the weekly sit-at-home in August 2021 to protest Kanu’s rendition to Nigeria and subsequent incarceration. The directive, which was enforced across the region, often led to the shutdown of markets, schools, banks and offices.
Powerful said the new directive leaves “no need, excuse, or justification” for residents to remain indoors on Mondays, stressing that economic and social activities must resume fully across the South-East.
“The Indigenous People of Biafra, under the supreme leadership of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hereby announces to the entire world that the Monday sit-at-home across the South-East is officially and permanently cancelled with effect from tomorrow, Monday, February 9, 2026,” the statement read.
According to IPOB, Kanu issued the directive to ensure that children return to school and that residents go about their lawful businesses without fear or intimidation.
The group warned that any individual or group attempting to enforce sit-at-home would be acting against Kanu’s direct order.
It also cautioned against what it described as “false-flag operations” aimed at creating fear and discouraging people from resuming normal activities.
IPOB further urged residents to remain calm and law-abiding, while warning state governments against arbitrarily shutting down markets or businesses.
It said any renovation or reconstruction of markets must be done with the consent of stakeholders and with adequate alternative trading arrangements.
“We therefore call on all our people across the South-East to come out, open their shops, go to work, and send their children to school without fear. The era of Monday sit-at-home is over,” the statement added.
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An SBM Intelligence report had linked sit-at-home directives enforced in the South-East between 2021 and 2025 to widespread violence and economic losses.
The report documented hundreds of violent incidents and fatalities across the region, with Imo and Anambra states recording the highest figures.
It also estimated economic losses of about N7.6tn due to repeated market closures and disruptions to trade and transportation.
The IPOB announcement comes amid recent actions by Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who last week ordered the forced reopening of the Onitsha Main Market on a Monday, defying the sit-at-home order.
The market had earlier been shut on January 26, 2025, after traders failed to open for business. It was reopened on February 2 following a one-week closure, with many traders operating on a Monday for the first time since the sit-at-home enforcement began in 2021.
Addressing traders at the market, Soludo declared an end to Monday sit-at-home in the state and warned that traders who failed to open their shops risked forfeiting their business premises.