Lawyer Blasts Soludo Over Onitsha Market Shutdown, Calls Action “Executive Recklessness”

|By Chinwendu Nwani

An Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Maxwell Opara, has sharply criticised Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, over the decision to shut down the Onitsha Main Market, describing the move as illegal and a violation of fundamental human rights.

Opara made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television, where he argued that the governor lacks the legal authority to order the closure of privately owned markets and should be dragged to court over the decision.

The lawyer faulted Soludo’s directive, issued on Monday, ordering the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market, insisting that the action amounts to trespass on private property and an abuse of executive power.

According to him, traders and shop owners have the right to decide when to operate their businesses, stressing that any voluntary decision by market associations to stay at home on Mondays remains their personal choice.

“The governor cannot just wake up and order the shutdown of a market. He should be sued for issuing such an order,” Opara said. “These markets and shops are private property. The traders are running their businesses with their own money.”

He warned that locking up shops because traders refused to open on Mondays constitutes what he termed “executive recklessness,” adding that legal action should be instituted against the governor for taking such a decision.

Opara further advised traders facing threats or intimidation to report such actions to the appropriate authorities, noting that no individual or group has the right to coerce business owners into shutting down their means of livelihood.

“If anybody issues an order asking you to sit at home with threats, that should be reported. Government exists to protect citizens, not to intimidate them,” he added.