Heavy security has been deployed to seal the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State, enforcing Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one-week closure order.
On Tuesday, hundreds of security personnel, supported by Armoured Personnel Carriers and Hilux vans, barricaded strategic entrances and patrolled the market perimeter to ensure compliance. The action follows the traders’ defiance of the state government’s directive to open for business on Monday, rejecting the sit-at-home order.
Recall that Governor Soludo, during an inspection on Monday, ordered the immediate shutdown, labeling the traders’ refusal as “plain economic sabotage.” He warned that the closure could be extended to one month if compliance is not achieved.
“The government cannot stand by while a few individuals willfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy,” Soludo stated.
Traders and visitors were seen loitering outside the sealed gates, unable to access their shops. The atmosphere was tense, with occasional rowdiness as security forces moved through the area, leading to minor confrontations.
The state government estimates that the Monday sit-at-home costs Anambra State about N8 billion weekly and the entire South-East region N19.6 billion in lost economic activity.
This enforcement also sets the stage for a direct clash with the Indigenous People of Biafra, which has issued a counter-directive urging traders to defy the closure and resume business, describing the governor’s action as “disappointing and unacceptable.”
