The Indigenous People of Biafra on Monday announced the cancellation of Monday sit-at-home across the South-East zone.
This move is sequence to a directive from its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, with effect from February 9, 2026.
A statement issued by IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, directed that all schools and businesses should resumption operations on Monday.
Recall that the group had declared the weekly sit-at-home in August 2021 to protest Kanu’s rendition to Nigeria and subsequent incarceration, a move that often resulted in the shutdown of markets, schools, banks and offices.
Powerful said the new directive stressed that all economic and social activities must resume fully.
He said, “The 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.
“This directive comes directly from Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu himself, who has once again staked everything on the line to ensure that our children return to school every Monday and that our people go about their lawful businesses without fear, intimidation, or molestation,” the statement said.
The group warned that any individual or group attempting to enforce sit-at-home would be acting against Kanu’s direct order.
“Kanu has made it abundantly clear that any person or group attempting to enforce sit-at-home from this moment forward is acting against his direct command,” the statement said.
He urged people to remain calm and law-abiding to douse out tension in the states.
Last week, Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, ordered the forced reopening of the Onitsha Main Market on Monday, in a move defying the sit-at-home directive issued by IPOB.
During an earlier visit on Monday, January 26, 2025, the governor had ordered the market to be shut after traders failed to open that day.
Following a one-week closure, the market was reopened on Monday, February 2, with many traders operating for the first time since 2021, when the enforcement of the sit-at-home order began.
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