The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced the permanent cancellation of its Monday sit-at-home directive across Nigeria’s south-east, saying the decision followed an order from its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and would take effect from Monday, 9 February 2026.
The declaration was made on Sunday in a statement by the group’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, who said the instruction came directly from Kanu.
IPOB first introduced the weekly sit-at-home in August 2021 as a protest against Kanu’s rendition to Nigeria and his continued incarceration. The order frequently paralysed the region, forcing the closure of markets, schools, banks and government offices, and often leaving streets deserted amid fears of violence.
Powerful said Kanu had now directed that economic and social life must resume fully, insisting that there was “no need, excuse, or justification” for residents to remain indoors on Mondays.
“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,” the statement said.
“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 group warned that anyone attempting to enforce the sit-at-home directive from this point would be acting against Kanu’s instructions.
“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,” Powerful said.
He also cautioned against what he described as “false-flag operations” intended to create panic and discourage residents from returning to work, urging people to remain calm and law-abiding.
IPOB further warned state governments against threatening or shutting down businesses, insisting that any reconstruction or renovation of markets must be undertaken with the consent of traders and with alternative arrangements put in place.
“We therefore call on all our people across the South-East to come out tomorrow, open their shops, go to work, and send their children to school without fear. The era of Monday sit-at-home is over,” the statement said.
The sit-at-home campaign has been widely linked to violence and economic disruption in the region. A report by SBM Intelligence said the enforcement of the order between 2021 and 2025 was associated with hundreds of attacks involving intimidation, arson, kidnappings and assaults on civilians accused of defying the directive.
The report estimated that the crisis resulted in at least 776 deaths and hundreds of violent incidents, with Imo and Anambra states recording the highest toll. It also put the economic losses from repeated shutdowns at about N7.6tn, citing market closures and the disruption of trade and transport.
The announcement comes days after the Anambra state governor, Chukwuma Soludo, ordered the forced reopening of the Onitsha Main Market on a Monday, openly challenging the sit-at-home practice.
Soludo had earlier shut the market on 26 January 2025 after traders failed to open, but following a week-long closure, it was reopened on 2 February. Many traders reportedly returned to business on a Monday for the first time since the sit-at-home enforcement began in 2021.
Addressing traders at the market, Soludo declared an end to Monday sit-at-home and warned that any trader who continued to comply risked losing their business premises, adding that those who refused to open would forfeit their shops.
