A human rights lawyer and lead counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has urged South-East residents to completely ignore what he described as a “fraudulent” sit-at-home order allegedly scheduled for Monday, February 2, 2026, by a faction of the group.
Recall that the pro-Biafran group, through its spokesman Emma Powerful, had directed a sit-at-home on February 2 across the region in solidarity with traders at the Onitsha Main Market.
Powerful said the total shutdown in Biafraland is a direct, peaceful, and unified response to the actions of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who ordered the closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week.
But in a counter statement released on Saturday, Ejiofor said the source behind the directive, operating under the guise of “Emma Powerful,” has been compromised and is acting against the collective interest of Ndi-Igbo.
He insisted that IPOB has formally and decisively distanced itself from the false sit-at-home order and directed Ndi-Igbo to go about their lawful activities without fear.
The statement read in part: “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.”
According to Ejiofor, the peaceful global movement must go further by publicly and definitively explaining why this source has become unreliable, compromised, and hostile to the collective interest of Ndi-Igbo. Silence, ambiguity, or polite distancing, he said, only leaves room for further abuse.
“A masquerade that dances with fire should not be mistaken for a messenger of truth,” the statement concluded.
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