By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy & Development (FENRAD) has called for the immediate reopening of Onitsha Main Market, describing the continued shutdown under the guise of enforcing sit-at-home orders as “executive rascality” and a threat to the livelihoods of traders, artisans, transport workers, and daily wage earners. The market was shut down on Monday by Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, who said that the punishment would last for a full week as a result of traders not opening their shops on Mondays.

But in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, the organisation condemned what it described as a “gross abuse of executive power, economic strangulation of the people, and a dangerous criminalization of dissenting voices.” FENRAD emphasised that shutting down one of West Africa’s largest commercial hubs amounts to collective punishment, undermining citizens’ fundamental rights to livelihood, movement, and peaceful expression, and called on authorities to act with restraint, responsibility, and respect for human dignity.

“The enforcement approach adopted by the authorities is neither lawful nor sustainable. Shutting down an entire city and its markets only escalates fear, deepens mistrust, and destabilizes an already fragile socio-economic environment,” Comrade Nwafor said, urging the Southeast Governors’ Forum to pursue political solutions rather than coercion, including addressing grievances such as the detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

The rights group further warned against the criminalization of dissent, stressing that “a democratic society must protect freedom of expression and constructive dissent, not suppress them through intimidation and economic repression.” FENRAD outlined its demands clearly: the immediate reopening of Onitsha markets, an end to collective punishment, urgent political engagement to resolve the sit-at-home crisis, respect for citizens’ rights, and genuine dialogue to address underlying security and political concerns.

It concluded: “Sustainable peace and security can only be achieved through inclusive dialogue, justice, and the protection of livelihoods—not through force and repression. FENRAD remains committed to defending human rights and democratic freedoms, and will continue to speak out against policies and actions that undermine the well-being and rights of the people.”