The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has officially announced the permanent and total cancellation of its Monday sit-at-home order across the South-East region of Nigeria. This significant directive, which takes effect from Monday, February 9, 2026, marks the end of a nearly five-year protest that severely disrupted social and economic life in the region.

According to IPOB, the decision comes directly from its detained leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who instructed the leadership to suspend the action in the interest of peace and the full restoration of normal economic activities. Kanu stressed that there is no longer any justification for the sit-at-home, aiming to ease hardship on residents and allow businesses, schools, and other daily activities to run without disruption. IPOB reaffirmed its commitment to non-violence and peaceful engagement, urging people in the South-East to go about their lawful activities without fear, intimidation, or molestation.

The Monday sit-at-home was initially introduced in 2021 following Kanu’s arrest and continued detention after his extradition from Kenya to Nigeria to face terrorism-related charges. What began as an action limited to dates of Kanu’s court appearances later evolved into a weekly exercise, often enforced violently by armed groups. Despite IPOB’s previous announcements of suspension, compliance persisted across many parts of the South-East due to fear, threats, and attacks. This prolonged shutdown led to significant economic losses, repeated school closures, and sustained pressure from South-East governors for residents to ignore the order.

IPOB has issued a stern warning against any individual or group attempting to enforce the sit-at-home going forward, declaring that such persons would be acting contrary to Kanu’s direct command and would be treated as enemies of the people and the Biafran cause. The group stated that “the era of Monday sit-at-home is over” and that enforcers “will be pursued to the ends of the earth and confronted until they are completely defeated.” Residents are urged to remain law-abiding and vigilant.

The group emphasized that all markets, schools, offices, transport services, and economic activities must resume fully and normally from February 9, 2026. For anyone in doubt about Kanu’s position, IPOB suggested seeking direct confirmation, stating, “We can no longer hide under, ‘Onyendu cannot be reached to confirm’ to persist with our recalcitrance or docility.”

Addressing the actions of state governments, particularly Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, IPOB cautioned against what it described as threats against traders. While acknowledging the end of the sit-at-home, IPOB clarified that no state governor has the right to threaten, demolish, or forcibly shut down the businesses of traders who, out of conscience, chose to sit at home in solidarity with their leader. The group also stated that any market renovation or reconstruction involving temporary relocation must be carried out only with the consent of all stakeholders and with adequate temporary trading sites provided.

IPOB also cautioned against possible “false-flag operations” by enemies of Biafra designed to create fear or stage attacks, urging residents to remain vigilant, calm, and law-abiding. Calling for unity, the group stated that past crises had been fueled by external forces and warned against renewed division. The directive concludes with a direct call to all residents across the South-East to come out, open their shops, go to work, and send their children to school without fear, reiterating that the era of Monday sit-at-home is definitively over.