Security forces on Wednesday dispersed a large group of protesters who had blocked the strategic Onitsha Head Bridge, a major thoroughfare linking Anambra to neighbouring states, amid escalating anger over the ongoing closure of the Onitsha Main Market.
The demonstration, which entered its second day, was triggered by a one-week shutdown of the iconic Main Market ordered by Governor Chukwuma Soludo after traders repeatedly failed to observe government directives to resume business activities on Mondays.
On Wednesday morning, traders and residents barricaded the road leading to the Head Bridge, bringing movement in and out of Onitsha to a near standstill. Videos circulating on social media showed crowds of protesters erecting makeshift barriers, chanting slogans and chanting in defiance of the market closure.
Several protesters carried sticks and other improvised items as they marched across the bridge, amplifying disruption to vehicular traffic.
As tensions intensified, operatives of a Joint Security Team, comprising the Nigeria Police Force, military personnel, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other agencies, moved in to disperse the crowd.
In a press statement, Anambra State Police Command spokesman SP Tochukwu Ikenga said the security forces had “successfully contained and deterred all forms of disruptive activities, ensuring the safety of lives and property.”
He reiterated that the command, in collaboration with other security agencies, would remain vigilant to prevent any attempt by “miscreants or criminal elements to exploit the temporary closure of markets to cause a breach of peace in Onitsha.”
Ikenga urged residents and traders to remain law-abiding and comply with government directives, stressing this was “in the overall interest of public safety and security.”
The police statement also acknowledged the potential for misinformation, noting concerns about “individuals using social media platforms to incite violence…and the sharing of unverified videos regarding the security situation in the area.”
Governor Soludo’s order to close the Onitsha Main Market followed weeks of merchants defying repeated government appeals to reopen on Mondays, a day many businesses traditionally remained shut due to the lingering sit-at-home practice associated with separatist agitation in the South-East.
The sit-at-home directive, initially linked to demands for the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, has long disrupted commerce across the region, inflicting heavy economic losses.
In defending his decision, Soludo described the persistent closure of markets as “economic sabotage” and argued it was essential to restore normal business rhythms and protect the state’s economy.
Many traders have condemned the shutdown as punitive, saying the one-week closure will worsen economic hardship. Protesters and market stakeholders have argued that businesses outside the Main Market, including Marine Market, Biafra Market and others, depend on its operations for income and customer flow.
A trader interviewed during the protest lamented that “you cannot tell me when to open my shop or not,” and questioned why entire commercial communities should suffer because some individuals adhered to the Monday sit-at-home tradition.
Others called for broader political change, asserting that forcing compliance through closures and heavy security deployments was counterproductive and risked unnecessary escalation.
By late Wednesday evening, police said the situation in Onitsha had largely calmed, with security patrols continuing across key parts of the city to deter further unrest.
However, the demonstrations underscored deep frustration among traders and residents over government measures and highlighted the ongoing tension between official efforts to normalize economic activity and the enduring impact of socio-political movements in the South-East region.
