Sit-At-Home Order: NHRC backs Soludo on shutdown of Onitsha main market
Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state, on Tuesday, got a pat at the back for closing down Onitsha main market for the failure of the traders to comply with the governor’s directive that the Monday Sit-At-Home must end.
Speaking at the January human rights dashboard presentation, the executive secretary of National Human Rights Commission, Dr Tony Ojukwu said that Soludo was right.
He emphasized that nobody has the right to stop the freedom of movement of the other person and even implored the other governors of the zone to borrow a leaf from Soludo.
“Whatever lawful thing that should be done to stop the sit-at-home order in the south East must be done.
“We salute the initiative of the governor and call on all other governors of the zone to emulate him. That is the position of the commission,” he submitted.
Recall that the south East has been hit by this order issued by a section of the IPOB for some years now.
The order which has brought economic and security hardship to the people of the zone has been a major headache to both the people and its governments.
Several attempts have been made by different governors of the zone to bring the issue to an end without success.
In trying to solve the problem, governor Soludo issued directives to the traders to ignore the sit at home order by IPOB by opening their shops on Mondays as in other days.
However, following the failure of the traders to adhere to the order, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo ordered the closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week.
The governor announced the decision on Monday morning during an unscheduled visit to the market, where he observed that many shops remained shut despite his earlier declaration ending the sit-at-home order.
Soludo had, just last week, publicly announced that the Monday sit-at-home, which has persisted for years across parts of the South-East as a form of protest, had been called off in Anambra State. He urged residents and traders to resume normal economic activities, assuring them of improved security and government support.
However, during his inspection, the governor expressed dissatisfaction that traders at the Onitsha Main Market were still observing the restriction. In response, he ordered the immediate shutdown of the market for one week as a measure to enforce compliance and send a clear message.
Commercial activities at the Onitsha Main Market are expected to resume after the one-week closure, provided traders comply fully with the government directive.
The shutdown order, however, has not resonated well with some people who criticized the governor’s action.
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