Lead counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has declared a sit-at-home scheduled for Monday, February 2, as fake and fraudulent, urging residents of the South-East to ignore it.
Recall that a statement reportedly signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, was titled “IPOB declares Biafra-Wide Solidarity Lockdown on Monday February 2, 2026 in unwavering support for Onitsha traders and demand for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu”.
It read: “The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, under the leadership of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hereby declares a Biafra-wide solidarity strike, a complete lockdown of all economic activities across Igboland and wider Biafran territories, on Monday, February 2, 2026.”
The directive was in an apparent move to counter the order by Governor Charles Soludo for traders to return to their trading activities in Anambra State on Mondays.
Read the full story of the sit-at-home order HERE.
It’s fake – IPOB lawyer
Reacting to the directive in a statement on Saturday, Ejiofor said: “Once again, the well-worn theatre of misinformation has opened its curtains, this time with a particularly lazy script and an insultingly predictable cast.
“Late yesterday, a report was widely circulated alleging that a total lockdown of Ala-Igbo had been ordered under the guise of a sit-at-home directive purportedly issued by ‘Emma Powerful,’ slated for Monday, February 2, 2026.
“Let it be stated clearly, unequivocally, and without ambiguity: this directive is fake, a phantom, a calculated falsehood.
“Upon careful inquiry and diligent verification, especially considering the delicate and hard-won calm presently returning to our homeland, it became glaringly obvious that the so-called ‘Emma Powerful’ platform has been fatally compromised.
“It has been hijacked by vested interests whose business model thrives on fear, disruption, extortion, and the cynical exploitation of vulnerable communities.
“The peaceful global movement of the IPOB has formally and decisively disowned this fabricated publication, categorically distancing itself from the false sit-at-home order and directing Ndi-Igbo to go about their lawful and normal activities without fear.
“Going forward, the message from IPOB is unmistakable: any publication attributed to ‘Emma Powerful’ should be treated with extreme suspicion, if not outright contempt.
“Frankly, one cannot but express astonishment, bordering on disbelief, that at such a critical juncture, when relative peace is cautiously resurfacing in Ala-Igbo, anyone would recklessly circulate information capable of reopening wounds and inviting criminal infiltration.
“History has taught us, at unbearable cost, what happens when fake directives fall into the hands of violent opportunists masquerading as enforcers.
“It is therefore no longer sufficient to merely advise our people to ‘ignore’ publications from this source.
“The time has come for greater clarity and firmness. The platform known as ‘Emma Powerful,’ in its current corrupted state, has positioned itself as an adversary to Ala-Igbo’s peace, progress, and collective well-being.”
