Human rights lawyer, Barrister Ikechukwu Obasi, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, the Attorney General of Anambra State, the Commissioner of Police of Anambra State, and the Inspector General of Police.
The suit is over the closure of the Onitsha Main Market and other markets in the state over traders’ continued observance of Monday sit-at-home.
In the suit he filed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, Obasi argued that the closure of the markets violated the traders’ fundamental rights, including personal liberty, freedom from forced labour, human dignity, freedom of movement, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, right to privacy, economic development, and freedom of expression, as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (CAP A9) 2011.
Obasi, who is representing the traders of Onitsha in a public interest litigation, said he became aware of the dispute after coming across a viral video where Governor Soludo directed that markets in Onitsha and across the state must be opened from Monday to Saturday, with the warning that traders who fail to comply should leave the state.
“Markets are open Monday to Saturday. If you are not prepared to open your shops Monday to Saturday, then leave Anambra, go elsewhere; period,” Soludo had said during an unscheduled visit to Onitsha Main Market on Monday, January 26, 2026.
“So, this market will be shut down for the remainder of this week. It will not be opened tomorrow, it will not be opened on Wednesday, it will not be opened on Thursday, it will not be opened on Friday. It will open again on Monday,” the governor added.
In the suit he filed on January 28, 2026, Obasi contended that the Governor’s directive forced the will of the government on traders, compelling them to operate their businesses according to a government timetable rather than their personal choice.
The lawyer stated in the suit that from January 27, 2026, police operatives, acting under the instructions of the state government, enforced the shutdown, leading to civil unrest, unlawful arrests, teargassing, and economic hardship for the traders.
In his affidavit in support of the originating motion, Obasi described the enforcement action as a gross violation of the traders’ fundamental rights.
He emphasised that the voluntary sit-at-home was a form of lawful protest protected under Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter.
He further argued that the government’s actions constituted forced labour, breached human dignity, and unlawfully restricted the traders’ freedom of movement, association, and economic activity.
In the suit, Obasi sought a declaration that the threat to shut down Onitsha market and traders’ shops as a sanction for observing a lawful sit-at-home on January 26, 2026, by the Governor amounts to a violation of fundamental rights to personal liberty, peaceful assembly and association, freedom of movement, and economic, social, and cultural development.
“A declaration that the actual shutdown of the Onitsha Main Market and other shops from January 27, 2026, by the Governor and Attorney General violates the same fundamental rights.
“A declaration that the mandatory order compelling all markets in Anambra State to open from Monday to Saturday, or for traders to leave the state, constitutes a breach of the traders’ rights to freedom from forced labour, human dignity, personal liberty, privacy, peaceful assembly, and economic development.
“A declaration that the enforcement of the shutdown by police operatives constitutes a violation of the traders’ rights to assembly, association, freedom of movement, and economic development.
“A declaration that any continuous shutdown of the Onitsha Main Market as a sanction for observing the lawful sit-at-home amounts to a violation of the traders’ fundamental rights.
“A declaration that observing a lawful sit-at-home is an exercise of the traders’ fundamental right to peaceful protest and lawful expression. And a declaration that clamping down on voluntary and lawful sit-at-home activities violates the traders’ rights to privacy, peaceful protest, and lawful expression.”
Anthony Martin Anthonymartin
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