Tension gripped the South-East on Sunday after a group dressed in IPOB regalia and brandishing IPOB flags dramatically announced the sudden cancellation of the long-running Monday sit-at-home directive across the region.
In a video that spread rapidly across social media, the group boldly declared that all markets, schools, businesses and workplaces would reopen from Monday, February 9, 2026, insisting that residents should resume their normal lives without fear, harassment or intimidation.
The group claimed the controversial decision was taken on the direct orders of detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, asserting that he had instructed the immediate suspension of the weekly shutdown that has crippled economic and social activities in the South-East for years.
“Our people must return to normal life,” the speaker said, calling on traders to open their shops, students to return to classrooms and workers to report to duty, while assuring residents that it was now safe to move freely.
But the announcement quickly took a threatening turn.
The group issued a fiery warning to Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, accusing him of meddling in the affairs of traders and marketers in the state. They issued thinly veiled threats against the governor, vowing retaliation if, in their words, marketers were made to “suffer” under his administration.
The shocking development triggered widespread confusion and anxiety across the region—until the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) swiftly disowned the group.
IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful flatly denied any knowledge of the individuals in the viral video, branding them as criminal impostors allegedly recruited by Finland-based agitator Simon Ekpa to destabilise the South-East.
“We don’t know them. IPOB does not have such people. They are criminals recruited by infiltrator Simon Ekpa,” Powerful said.
The dramatic back-and-forth has deepened uncertainty over the future of the sit-at-home order, exposing fierce internal rifts and raising fresh fears of misinformation, violence and chaos in a region already on edge.
As Monday approaches, residents are left trapped between conflicting voices, unanswered questions—and the risk of dire consequences.
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