Prominent human rights lawyer, Barrister Jezie Ekejiuba, has condemned Governor Charles Soludo’s decision to shut down Onitsha Main Market for one week.
Speaking in a statement made available to This Dawn on Saturday, the lawyer criticized Governor Soludo, describing his action as executive overreach.
He stated: “The Governor has no such executive powers.
“He can only enforce court orders and laws passed by the State House of Assembly.
“Rule of law prohibits him from being an accuser and at the same time the judge in his own case,” Ekejiuba stated.
He emphasized that no existing law provides for market closures as punitive measure for non-compliance with directives to open on Mondays.
He also regretted that Soludo is using military soldiers as enforcers, stressing that the governor is not a military governor.
Ekejiuba: “On Rule of Law We Stand”
In the statement entitled “On Rule of Law We Stand”, Ekejiuba stated:
“The State Government has legal power to regulate the opening and closing of every government-owned market or even private markets in Anambra State.
“The only area we disagree with Governor Soludo is on his method that is his resort to the use of military force to shut down the market while abandoning the rule of law alternative method.
“A Governor that respects the Rule of law will direct his Attorney-General and Commissioner For Justice to file a formal rule of lawsuit at the State High Court to obtain an Order of Court to compel the market leaders to open markets on Mondays.
“The service of the suit Court Processes on the traders market leaders and news publications of the suit is enough warning and notice to the traders to comply.
“Once the Court Order is secured, the government will proceed to execute the Court Order.
“Any disobedience is contempt of court, and nobody will be accusing the government of dictatorship or use of self-help.”
“Executive Lawlessness and Dictatorship”
Ekejiuba emphasised that anything short of that is tantamount to “executive lawlessness and dictatorship”.
He stated further: “The governor without prior notice to the market leaders and traders in an unscheduled visit to Onitsha Main Market on Monday and observing that the market did not open on Monday and then ordering by executive Fiat that the Onitsha Main Market will be shut down from the next day being Tuesday for One Week is nothing but executive lawlessness and dictatorship.”
Ekejiuba called for dialogue to end Mondays sit-at-home
Barrister Ekejiuba weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding the enforcement of the abolition of the Monday sit-at-home practice in the South-East
He called for dialogue to end the practice in Igbo Land, stressing that dialogue—not coercion—is the only sustainable solution.
In a detailed statement, Ekejiuba kicked against traders being compelled by government directives to open markets on Mondays.
He argued that they are unfairly singled out, while other sectors remain inactive due to insecurity and fear.
Why Traders Stay Home
According to Ekejiuba, traders dislike the Monday sit-at-home but are forced into compliance by circumstances beyond their control:
- Insecurity: Buyers avoid markets on Mondays due to fear of violence. Without buyers, sellers cannot trade.
- Transport shutdown: Roads remain deserted as transport operators stay off duty.
- Banks closed: Financial institutions do not open on Mondays, limiting transactions.
- Civil servants absent: Government workers also stay home, yet traders alone face punitive measures.
- Schools shut: Educational institutions remain closed, contributing to the paralysis of activity.
- Courts inactive: Judicial staff are absent from courtrooms, leaving the justice system idle.
Ekejiuba questioned why traders should be punished when other sectors also observe the sit-at-home.
Dialogue, Not Force
Ekejiuba insisted that social orientation and dialogue remain the only viable path forward.
He urged the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu to engage with true Igbo leaders and elders to address insecurity and the sit-at-home crisis through political solutions rather than legal coercion.
He pointed to the case of Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Igboho, who was released through political negotiation.
The human rights advocate argued that a similar approach should be applied to secure the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
He described Mazi Kanu as an “Igbo political prisoner of conscience.”
A National Problem
Ekejiuba stressed that the Monday sit-at-home is not merely an Anambra State issue but a national problem requiring federal intervention.
“Mondays sit-at-home is an Igbo problem, not an Anambra State problem.
“It is beyond South-East governors to solve.
“And it is beyond Anambra Governor to solve.
“It is a national problem which an ADC-led Federal Government will solve for the Igbo people to end insecurity and Mondays sit-at-home,” he declared.
Implications
His remarks highlight the growing tension between state enforcement measures and grassroots realities in the South-East.
While Soludo insists on restoring full economic activity on Mondays, critics like Ekejiuba insist that it will only deepen resentment.
They argue that coercion without addressing root causes—such as insecurity and Kanu’s detention—will only entrench resistance.
Ekejiuba’s intervention underscores the need for dialogue, inclusivity, and political solutions in resolving the sit-at-home crisis.
His call reflects a broader sentiment among Igbo stakeholders that punitive measures against traders are discriminatory and counterproductive.
As the debate intensifies, the question remains whether the Federal Government will ends the Monday paralysis across Igboland by:
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Heeding calls for negotiation,
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Adopting a political solution that addresses insecurity, and,
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Restoring peoples’ confidence.
