The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced the immediate cancellation of the long-running Monday sit-at-home order across the South-East, following a fresh directive from its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement issued on Sunday, IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, said Kanu instructed residents of the region to resume normal activities, reopen markets, return to work, and ensure that children go back to school without fear or intimidation.
He explained that the order was given to restore normal life and economic activities across the zone, stressing that there was no longer any reason for people to remain indoors on Mondays.
“The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), 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.
Powerful warned that anyone who attempts to enforce a sit-at-home order going forward would be acting directly against Kanu’s instruction and would no longer have the backing of IPOB.
The Monday sit-at-home began in 2021 as a protest against the arrest and continued detention of Kanu, who was extradited from Kenya to Nigeria to face terrorism-related charges. What started as a symbolic protest tied to his court appearances later became a weekly shutdown across the region, leading to widespread disruption of economic, educational, and social activities.
Although IPOB had at different times announced a suspension of the sit-at-home, compliance continued in many communities, largely due to fear arising from attacks, threats, and violent enforcement by armed groups. The development resulted in severe economic losses, prolonged school closures, and repeated appeals by South-East state governments for residents to ignore the order and resume daily activities.
In recent months, some Governors in the region openly took steps to end the practice. The Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, ordered the reopening of markets and schools on Mondays, warning that the state would no longer tolerate enforced shutdowns.
He also directed that markets closed under the guise of sit-at-home be reopened and threatened sanctions, including salary deductions, against public servants and teachers who fail to report for duty. Soludo insisted that there is no official sit-at-home policy in the state.
IPOB had earlier accused some state governments of using intimidation tactics such as market closures, demolition threats, and harassment against traders and workers, arguing that citizens had the right to make personal choices.
However, the group now says Kanu has ordered a complete and permanent end to the sit-at-home and urged residents to go about their lawful businesses freely.
“There is now no need, excuse, or justification for anyone to stay at home on Mondays,” Powerful said, adding that the era of the Monday sit-at-home has finally come to an end.
