By Eteteonline
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) claims that Nnamdi Kanu, its convicted leader, has ordered the complete abolition of sit-at-home protests throughout the southeast region of Nigeria.
IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful stated in a statement on Sunday that the group’s arrested leader, Nnamdi Kanu, had issued the order, advising locals to go back to work, reopen markets, and send their kids to school without fear.
“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 reads.
There is no longer any justification for residents to stay indoors on Mondays, Powerful added, adding that Kanu made the decision to ensure that regular life resumes throughout the southeast.
“There is now no need, excuse, or justification for anyone to stay at home on Mondays.
“All markets, schools, offices, transport services, and economic activities must resume fully and normally. From tomorrow, the Monday sit-at-home is over,” he said.
According to the IPOB spokesperson, anyone who is unsure whether Mr Kanu ended the notorious Monday sit-at-home in the area on his own should go see him at the Sokoto prison facility to get confirmation.
“Such persons are enemies of our people and the Biafran cause. They will be pursued to the ends of the earth and confronted until they are completely defeated,” he stated.
“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.”
With effect from tomorrow, Monday, February 9, 2026, the directive has been formally and permanently revoked, according to Mr. Powerful, who also stated that anyone who attempts to enforce sit-at-home going forward will be acting against Kanu’s directive.
The sit-at-home order, which is often obeyed on Mondays, was first enforced by IPOB on South-East residents in August 2021. Its goal was to put pressure on the Nigerian government to free Mr. Kanu, the convicted leader of IPOB, who was then being tried for terrorism at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Schools were forced to close, significant financial losses resulted, and state administrations repeatedly urged citizens to disregard the directive.
Nonetheless, some governors from the southeast have publicly called to stop the practice in recent months. Limited progress was made in stopping the practice by Igbo leaders such as Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the governors of Enugu and Anambra.
In a warning that the state government would no longer put up with forced closures, Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo ordered that markets and schools reopen on Mondays.
Additionally, Soludo ordered the reopening of stores that had been closed on the pretense of sit-at-home and threatened to discipline public employees, including teachers, who do not show up for work on Mondays.
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