Nnamdi Kanu orders IPOB to end Monday sit-at-home

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says it has formally and permanently cancelled the Monday sit-at-home across Nigeria’s south-east, with immediate effect.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Emma Powerful, the group’s spokesperson, said the decision followed a directive from Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB’s detained leader. He urged residents to resume normal activities, reopen markets, return to work and send their children to school without fear.

Powerful said Kanu ordered the cancellation to restore normal life in the region, stressing that there was “no longer any justification” for residents to remain indoors on Mondays.

“The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the supreme leadership of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hereby announces that the Monday sit-at-home across the South-East is officially and permanently cancelled with effect from Monday, February 9, 2026,” the statement said.

IPOB warned that anyone attempting to enforce sit-at-home going forward would be acting against Kanu’s express directive, distancing the group from any future disruptions linked to the practice.

The Monday sit-at-home began in 2021 as a protest against Kanu’s arrest and continued detention after his extradition from Kenya to face terrorism-related charges in Nigeria. Initially tied to specific court appearances, the protest later evolved into a weekly exercise.

Read Also: Imo govt ready to commission Orashi Electricity Company

Over time, compliance persisted in many parts of the south-east, often driven by fear, threats and violent enforcement by armed groups, even after IPOB publicly announced its suspension of the order. The situation led to significant economic losses, prolonged school closures and repeated appeals by state governments for residents to ignore the directive.

In recent months, several south-east governors have taken more assertive steps to end the practice. Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra State, ordered markets and schools to reopen on Mondays and warned that the government would no longer tolerate shutdowns linked to sit-at-home.

Soludo also threatened sanctions against public servants, including teachers, who fail to report for duty on Mondays, saying salaries would be deducted and insisting there was no official sit-at-home policy in the state.

IPOB had criticised those measures, accusing state governments of intimidation through market closures, demolition threats and sanctions against traders and workers. The group argued that citizens who stayed at home did so out of “personal conviction”.

However, in Sunday’s statement, IPOB said Kanu has now ordered a complete end to the Monday sit-at-home and called on residents of the south-east to go about their lawful activities without fear or coercion.

“The era of Monday sit-at-home is over,” the group said, urging residents to remain law-abiding and vigilant.

Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe is a writer and journalist who covers business, finance, technology, and the changing forces shaping Nigeria’s economy. He focuses on turning complex ideas into clear, compelling stories.

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date