‘Your method is faulty’: Reps member tackles Soludo over Onitsha market closure

A member of the House of Representatives from Abia State, Obi Aguocha, has criticised Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State for temporary closure of the Onitsha Market over traders’ compliance with a sit-at-home directive.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Governor Soludo of Anambra State ordered the closure of the market on Monday, when he visited and observed that shops were shut in compliance with the illegal order.

The illegal order is often enforced by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The governor’s action has triggered heavy protests by angry traders in the state who, on Tuesday, backed the Monday sit-at-home directive in honour of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

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‘It’s counterproductive’

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Aguocha, who represents Ikwuano-Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, argued that Mr Soludo’s closure of the market had unsettled the fragile peace which was slowly returning to the state and region.

“Over the last three years, many markets, plazas and shopping centres across the Southeast have gradually returned to normalcy, operating freely and unencumbered.

“I have worked tirelessly in this direction, and peace was steadily returning to our rural and commercial trading centres,” he said.

“Governor Soludo, unfortunately, has unleashed terror on an army of silent agitators who, for so long, had helped to abate the significance of the Monday sit-at-home rituals.”

The federal lawmaker contended that

while Mr Soludo’s intention to end the sit-at-home was noble, the method adopted by the governor was counterproductive.

“The governor’s effort has been executed in the most unconstructive and unacceptable manner.

“These misguided ordinances and actions have reignited embers of fear, hardened resistance and resurrected old resentments which, if left unchecked, could plunge the region into renewed violence, serious crimes and widespread criminality,” he said.

‘Soludo, Anambra govt have no power to close market’

Mr Aguocha, who is the chairperson of the House Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation, stressed that Governor Soludo and the Anambra State Government have no legal authority to compel private business owners to open or close their shops.

“Governor Soludo cannot force, punish or compel private business owners to close or open their shops, or to trade or refrain from trading,” he said.

The federal lawmaker argued that the governor should drop the idea of compelling people to open their shops on Monday because he cannot apply similar punitive measures to those who close their businesses early on Wednesdays and Fridays to attend religious services.

“Such decisions fall squarely within the ambit of their fundamental rights and are not governed by any state, labour or market-union relationship,” he said.

‘Continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, marginalisation of South-east’

Mr Aguocha argued that the failure of the Nigerian government to address the grievances of the South-east was fueling unrest and violence in the region.

“Until the Nigerian state genuinely and sincerely addresses the unjust detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the bias in the administration of criminal justice, the marginalisation and entrenched hostility against the Igbo people, and the root causes of youth agitation, we must brace ourselves for a vicious cycle of resentment,” he stated.

The federal lawmaker cautioned against attempts to coerce political support from the region, maintaining that such tactics would fail.

“If nothing urgent is done, no one should expect votes from the region based on being coerced, manipulated or compelled.

“Our votes will count, and we will defend them, even at the cost of our lives,” he said.

He assured that, as a member of the lower chamber of the country’s National Assembly, he is duty-bound to continue pursuing the best path towards freedom and justice.

Background

The sit-at-home directive began in the South-east in August 2021 when IPOB imposed it in the region.

The directive, which was to be observed every Monday, was intended to press the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who was facing terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The group later suspended the weekly directive, limiting it to days Mr Kanu appeared in court. However, residents of Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra states continued to observe the directive largely out of fear.

READ ALSO: Onitsha Market Closure: Traders block head bridge as protest enters second day

IPOB repeatedly distanced itself from the continued enforcement, insisting that those behind it were criminals exploiting the group’s name.

Despite this, Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based Biafra agitator, continued to issue sit-at-home orders, even after being suspended by the IPOB faction loyal to Mr Kanu.

In July 2023, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Kanu, through his lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, directed Mr Ekpa to halt the action. Mr Ekpa dismissed the directive as fake, insisting the order would continue unless Mr Kanu personally addressed him in Finland.

Efforts by Igbo leaders, including Enugu Governor Peter Mbah, Anambra Governor Mr Soludo, and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to end the practice yielded limited results.

While the sit-at-home has largely disappeared in Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi states, it persists in Anambra and Imo.

Meanwhile, Mr Kanu was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism in November, while Mr Ekpa received a six-year prison sentence in Finland for similar offences.