The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has directed Igbos accros the country to shut their markets, motor parks and businesses on October 20, 2025, for the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest at the Presidential Villa to demand the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement on Friday, the National President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, OYC called on Igbos to turn up in mass to protest against the plights of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
The OYC said the decision by Igbo traders and entrepreneurs to close their markets, shops, companies, and transport parks on Monday would be a symbolic act of unity and a peaceful show of dissent against perceived injustice and marginalisation of the Igbo nation.
“We appeal to all Igbos to lock down all shops, business areas, companies, and parks across the 36 states. The total shutdown will showcase our unity before the global community,” the statement said.
“Nigeria will experience calmness and tranquility on October 20, signifying a silent protest against the plight of Ndigbo.”
The OYC noted that although some Igbos might not be able to physically participate in street demonstrations, shutting down their economic activities would serve as a strong message of solidarity and nonviolent resistance.
The group accused the federal government of applying double standards in the administration of justice, arguing that Kanu’s prolonged detention and trial contrast sharply with the treatment of Boko Haram and bandit leaders in Northern Nigeria.
“Every empirical evidence has demonstrated that the standard of justice applied to Nnamdi Kanu differs from that applied to Boko Haram and bandits, despite his clear demand for a referendum,” the group said.
The group further urged Igbos to focus not on the perceived missteps of IPOB or Kanu but on the broader struggle against “injustice, intimidation, marginalisation, and harassment” of the Igbo people.
The OYC also called on Southeast governors, Alex Otti, Hope Uzodimma, Chukwuma Soludo, Peter Mbah, and Francis Nwifuru, to demonstrate wisdom and leadership by supporting efforts aimed at ensuring Kanu’s release.
“Wisdom lies in knowing right from wrong, and leadership is stepping into someone’s wrong for correction,” the group noted.
“History rests in the hands of political leaders in Igboland to correct the mistakes of this generation and guide them appropriately.”
According to OYC, freeing Kanu would mark the “first step in the process of healing and reconciliation” between the Nigerian government and the Southeast.
“Ndigbo has kissed political and economic dust in Nigeria for the sake of peace, yet we continue to contribute to national growth,” the statement read.
“Despite being excluded from political power for over six decades, we have built and developed cities across Nigeria.”
The group lamented what it described as decades of political exclusion, economic deprivation, and the destruction of Igbo-owned properties under “harsh government policies,” particularly in Lagos State.
The group urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to handle the October 20 protest with compassion and statesmanship, saying his actions would determine the “future of Nigeria’s unity or disintegration.”
“The decisions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will significantly impact how we feel towards Nigeria. Should he show compassion and empathy, we will respond with love,” the group said.
“But any undemocratic or repressive actions will only deepen resentment and hasten Nigeria’s downfall.”
The OYC described the upcoming protest as a peaceful, pan-Nigerian movement, not an act of opposition, but “a call for justice, fairness, and equity.”
“President Tinubu should not see the #ReleaseMaziNnamdiKanuNow protest as opposition but as an opportunity to become a unifying father of the nation by freeing Kanu and beginning true national reconciliation,” the group stated.
