The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Anambra State Government and its allies of engaging in what it described as a deliberate campaign of lies and propaganda to deny the scale of compliance recorded during the sit-at-home observed in Onitsha and across the South-East.
In a press statement released by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB said the shutdown in solidarity with Onitsha Main Market traders was total, insisting that public claims suggesting otherwise were intentionally misleading.
‘Shops Locked, Cities Silent’
According to the group, markets across Onitsha and other parts of Biafraland were completely shut, with streets empty and economic activities halted from the early hours of the day.
IPOB stated that the lockdown extended to Aguata Local Government Area, Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s hometown, adding that Government House in Awka, schools, banks and government offices did not open.
The group alleged that despite the visible shutdown, a false media narrative was staged using a small number of individuals posing under locked shops to suggest normal activity.
IPOB described the act as a “manufactured image designed to deceive the public.”
‘Conflicting Claims Exposed’
The statement said once widespread compliance became impossible to deny, what it termed a coordinated propaganda network moved quickly to rewrite the narrative.
IPOB questioned the credibility of claims that markets were open, pointing to Governor Soludo’s reported threat to demolish 10,000 shops.
“You cannot claim markets were open and at the same time threaten traders for not opening. The contradiction exposed the lie,” the group said.
Warning Against Intimidation
IPOB warned that threats against Onitsha traders could encourage the destruction of Igbo businesses without consequences, referencing similar past experiences in other parts of the country.
The group stressed that it was not advocating enforced sit-at-home, noting that its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, discontinued compulsory sit-at-home actions years ago.
“What our people defended was dignity, solidarity and resistance to intimidation,” the statement said.
‘Propaganda Failed’
Concluding the statement, IPOB said events of the day proved that unity overcame intimidation, insisting that truth would ultimately prevail.
“Intimidation has lost its power. Truth has defeated propaganda,” IPOB declared.
As of press time, the Anambra State Government had not responded to the allegations.
