The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dismissed advice by its former lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, urging residents of the South-East to ignore the sit-at-home protest scheduled for Monday, February 2, 2026, declaring that the directive remains valid and binding.
IPOB spokesman, Mr. Emma Powerful, made the clarification on Saturday while reacting to Ejiofor’s statement, which claimed that the group had abandoned sit-at-home protests in the region and questioned Powerful’s authority to issue such a directive.
The sit-at-home was announced by IPOB in solidarity with traders at the Onitsha Main Market, which was shut down for one week by Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, after traders defied the state government’s ban on Monday sit-at-home observances.
Following the closure, IPOB opposed the governor’s action and directed traders to reopen their shops. However, the state government enforced the shutdown with the deployment of armoured vehicles and heavily armed security personnel to the market.
In response, IPOB declared a South-East-wide sit-at-home for February 2. Ejiofor subsequently issued a counter-statement, distancing the organisation from the directive and alleging that Powerful had been compromised.
Reacting, Powerful described Ejiofor as a non-member of IPOB, insisting that he had been expelled from the organisation and lacked the authority to speak on its behalf.
“A sacked lawyer and non-member of IPOB cannot speak for the movement,” Powerful said, stressing that IPOB operates under a clearly defined chain of command established by its leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.
According to him, Kanu remains the supreme authority within IPOB and alone possesses the power to appoint or remove officials of the organisation.
“The chain of command in IPOB is not a recent invention. It is as old as the movement itself. Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu created structured departments to manage IPOB, and his word is final,” he stated.
Powerful further explained that the Directorate of Media and Publicity is the only body authorised to issue public statements on behalf of IPOB, adding that no communication concerning the group is valid without clearance from the spokesperson’s office.
Clarifying the nature of the protest, the IPOB spokesman said the February 2 sit-at-home is a one-off action, triggered by what he described as intimidation of traders and supporters of the group in Onitsha.
“The sit-at-home scheduled for Monday, February 2, is a one-off action in direct response to the intimidation and humiliation of our businessmen and women at Onitsha Main Market,” he said.
Powerful also rejected claims that some individuals allegedly representing IPOB’s Directorate of State had held a private meeting with the Anambra State Government, insisting that such persons neither represented Kanu nor spoke for the organisation.
He reaffirmed IPOB’s loyalty to its detained leader and vowed that the group would continue to pursue his release.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the press statement concerning Monday’s sit-at-home was issued by me and by nobody else,” Powerful added.
