By 2025, Southeast Nigeria will have endured four turbulent years under the shadow of the Indigenous People of Biafra’s (IPOB) enforced sit-at-home orders. What began in August 2021 as a symbolic act of protest – calling for the release of their detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu – has since metastasised into an economic and humanitarian crisis with staggering consequences.
According to SBM’s detailed impact report titled “Unmasking the Impact of IPOB’s Sit-at-Home Order in Southeast Nigeria,” the protest movement has left behind a trail of violence, economic devastation, educational disruption, and fractured governance, fundamentally altering life across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states.
Key Findings: The Price of Protest
1. A Collapsing Economy: ₦7.6 Trillion Lost
The sit-at-home order has resulted in ₦7.6 trillion ($4.6 billion) in economic losses, hitting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the hardest. “Micro-businesses now lose billions annually, with transporters forfeiting millions each Monday,” the report states. Income losses in the region range from 50% to 70%, as businesses shut down weekly out of fear or force.
“What began as a symbolic act of solidarity has become a tool of economic strangulation,” the report notes, drawing from SBM Intelligence data and first-hand interviews.
2. Casualties and Chaos: 776 Dead
The security toll is alarming. Between 2021 and 2025, at least 776 fatalities and 332 violent incidents were recorded. Imo State leads with 332 deaths, followed by Anambra State with 202.
IPOB’s Eastern Security Network (ESN) has been implicated in many of these incidents, although the line between politically motivated violence and criminal activity has blurred.
“Mondays have become days of fear. Even school exams and markets are rescheduled. Compliance is more out of fear than conviction,” the report adds.
3. Youth in the Crossfire: Compliance vs Conviction
A growing generational divide has emerged. While IPOB still enjoys sympathy from younger supporters who align with Kanu’s secessionist rhetoric, the older elite are leaning towards constitutional restructuring.
“The movement is no longer monolithic,” the report warns, citing the rise of violent splinter factions like Simon Ekpa’s, who operate outside IPOB’s central command.
Emmanuel Osita, Team leader, Agunechemba Security Squad urged traders and residents to go about their businesses as they are providing protection to people in Anambra state.
4. Collapse of Education and Livelihoods
From missed WAEC exams to salary cuts, job losses, and drained pension schemes, the humanitarian toll is immense. Schools now hold classes on Saturdays, while shop owners and civil servants scramble to make up for income lost every Monday. In one year of ‘No-school Mondays’, students have lost 52 Mondays, which is about two months of absence from education.
Why Sit-at-Home Persists: Fear Over Fervour
Some months ago, News Central’s Special Correspondent on Investigative Journalism, Marshall Anthoni Ononye revealed that despite IPOB publicly announcing a suspension of the weekly protest in 2021, the enforcement continues – often violently. Civilians who defy the order have been harassed, attacked, or had their vehicles torched.
“Even IPOB can no longer fully control the violence it once initiated,” the report argues. “Fragmentation and lack of leadership coherence have allowed criminal gangs to exploit the crisis.”
Solutions: From Protest to Progress
The report closes with multi-dimensional recommendations to rebuild trust and stability in Southeast Nigeria:
1. Federal-State-Community Dialogue
A structured dialogue involving IPOB representatives (including moderates), Southeast governors, traditional rulers, and civil society is crucial. A regional security summit could initiate this effort.
2. Security Reforms
Security operations in the Southeast must be demilitarised, intelligence-led, and human rights-compliant to avoid further alienating residents and fuelling radicalisation.
3. Economic Recovery and SME Grants
A special economic revitalisation plan focused on markets, transporters, and MSMEs – who have borne the brunt of the crisis – is urgently needed. Targeted tax holidays and financial grants could offer relief.
4. Youth Engagement
Invest in civic education, entrepreneurship hubs, and digital skill programmes to redirect disillusioned youth away from militant ideologies.
“Until young people have a stake in Nigeria’s economy and polity, extremist narratives will find fertile ground,” the report cautions.
Conclusion
The IPOB sit-at-home order is no longer just a protest, it is a crisis. With ₦7.6 trillion in economic losses, 776 lives lost, and a society torn between fear and ideology, the time for reactionary responses is over. Southeast Nigeria needs leadership, healing, and bold reforms. If Nigeria is to achieve national cohesion, it must learn not only how to respond to crises – but how to prevent them from festering.
The post Fear, Fractures, and ₦7.6 Trillion Lost: The True Cost of IPOB’s Sit-at-Home Order first appeared on News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today..