By our reporter 27.1.2026
Onitsha main market traders Tuesday clash with security agencies over the closure of the market by Anambra State governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
Prof. Soludo had ordered the market to be shut down for one week because the traders defied his orders for them to end their every Monday sit at home in protest over the continued imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
On Monday security operatives in Armored Personnel Carriers were stationed at the entrance of the market.
“I don’t mind closing this market for the rest of this year, and if it gets too much, we will bring bulldozers and level this market. If you are not ready to trade on Monday, leave Anambra and go elsewhere,” Soludo had warned the traders.
One of the traders argued that the issue is not about the freedom of Nnamdi Kanu any longer, adding that most traders have become used to resting on Mondays.
“We now do business from Tuesday to Saturday, and on Sunday we go to church, attend meetings and attend to other social events. Monday is the day we have chosen to rest, and we wish that our governor will reason with us”, he said.
Meanwhile the Anambra House of Assembly has justified the closure of the market by the state government. The lawmakers said the directive was necessary, as the state loses a total of N19.6 billion every Monday.