The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) Worldwide has declared a nationwide shutdown of all Igbo-owned businesses, markets, companies, and transport operations across Nigeria on Monday, October 20, 2025, in solidarity with a planned peaceful protest demanding the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the OYC National President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, the directive is in support of the peaceful march to Aso Rock being spearheaded by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.
Describing the shutdown as “a moral and patriotic duty,” Igboayaka said it serves as “a peaceful declaration that the Igbo nation stands firmly with truth, justice, and the rule of law.”
“We cannot continue business as usual while a son of Igboland remains unjustly detained against multiple subsisting court judgments ordering his release,” the OYC President stated.
The Council’s directive mandates that all Igbo-owned shops, markets, business outlets, companies, and transport operations remain closed throughout the duration of the protest. Igbo residents in Abuja were urged to join the Sowore-led march to Aso Rock, maintaining what the group called “discipline, decorum, and peaceful solidarity.”
In other states, the OYC instructed market and union leaders to ensure total compliance, emphasizing that the exercise must remain non-violent and orderly.
“This action is a non-violent expression of unity and conscience. It is not a rebellion but a moral statement of truth that the detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has become an emblem of ethnic injustice and political persecution against Ndigbo and other marginalized tribes,” the statement read.
The OYC also called on security agencies — including the Nigeria Police, Civil Defence, and the Red Cross — to display professionalism and neutrality during the demonstration.
Accusing the Federal Government of bias and selective justice, the group condemned what it described as double standards in the handling of national security issues.
“While known terrorists and bandits in the North are granted amnesty, protected, or negotiated with, the continuous incarceration of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who merely exercised his right to free speech is an insult to justice and the Nigerian Constitution,” the group stated.
The Council further warned that continued disobedience to court orders on Kanu’s release undermines Nigeria’s democracy and threatens national unity.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom is not just an Igbo issue; it is a litmus test for Nigeria’s justice system and the nation’s commitment to equality before the law,” the statement noted.
In a rallying call to Igbos across the country, the OYC urged collective participation and unity on the day of the protest.
“Let every son and daughter of Igboland, from Aba to Kano, Onitsha to Lagos, Enugu to Jos, Port Harcourt to Abuja, stand as one family. Let every Igbo market, office, and business center fall silent in dignified solidarity on October 20, 2025,” the Council declared.
The group concluded by reaffirming its message to the Federal Government:
“The time has come to obey the courts and release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Let justice be done, and let peace return to our land.”