By Chimdiogo Amuh 

A human rights lawyer, Mr Ikechukwu Obasi, has instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, over the closure of the Onitsha Main Market and other markets across the state.

Also joined in the suit are the Attorney-General of Anambra State, the Commissioner of Police and the Inspector-General of Police.

The suit, filed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, challenges the shutdown of markets following traders’ continued observance of the Monday sit-at-home. Obasi argues that the action infringes on the traders’ fundamental rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

According to the lawyer, the market closures violated several rights, including personal liberty, freedom from forced labour, human dignity, freedom of movement, peaceful assembly and association, privacy, freedom of expression, and the right to economic, social and cultural development.

Obasi, who is representing the traders in a public interest litigation, said he was prompted to file the suit after viewing a viral video in which Governor Soludo allegedly directed that markets in Onitsha and across Anambra State must operate from Monday to Saturday, warning that traders who failed to comply should vacate the state.

In the suit filed on January 28, 2026, Obasi contended that the directive amounted to an imposition of the government’s will on traders by compelling them to conduct business according to a state-mandated timetable rather than their personal choice.

He further alleged that from January 27, 2026, police operatives, acting on the instructions of the state government, enforced the market shutdown, leading to civil unrest, unlawful arrests, the use of teargas and severe economic hardship for traders.

In an affidavit in support of the originating motion, Obasi described the enforcement measures as a gross violation of the traders’ fundamental rights. He maintained that the sit-at-home was voluntary and constituted a lawful protest protected under Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The lawyer argued that the actions of the state government amounted to forced labour, violated human dignity, and unlawfully restricted the traders’ freedom of movement, association and economic activities.

Consequently, Obasi is asking the court to declare that the governor’s threat to shut down the Onitsha Main Market and traders’ shops as punishment for observing a lawful sit-at-home on January 26, 2026, violated their rights to personal liberty, peaceful assembly and association, freedom of movement, and economic development.

He is also seeking declarations that the actual closure of the Onitsha Main Market and other shops from January 27, 2026, the directive compelling all markets in Anambra State to open from Monday to Saturday or for traders to leave the state, and the enforcement of the shutdown by police operatives, all constitute breaches of the traders’ fundamental rights.

Additionally, Obasi wants the court to rule that any continued closure of the Onitsha Main Market as a sanction for observing a lawful sit-at-home is unconstitutional, and that participating in a lawful sit-at-home amounts to an exercise of the traders’ rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.