|By Chinwendu Nwani
Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has reopened the New Motorcycle Spare Parts Market, popularly known as Nkwo Nnewi, after enforcing a one-week closure over traders’ alleged defiance of the state government’s directive abolishing the Monday sit-at-home.
The market was sealed last Monday by the governor through his Special Adviser on Trade and Markets, Evaristus Uba, following an inspection that revealed a poor turnout of traders. The low attendance was interpreted as non-compliance with the state’s order mandating full business activities on Mondays across Anambra.
Uba had warned that the shutdown would be extended if traders failed to resume operations in compliance with the directive.
However, the Chairman of Nnewi North Local Government Area, Echezona Anazodo, on Monday led a fresh inspection to the market and reported a significant turnout of traders, prompting the state government to lift the ban.
Anazodo commended the traders for complying with the order but issued a stern warning that authorities would now target individual defaulters rather than punish the entire market.
“I’m happy to know today that traders complied with the order to resume for business. If even half of this turnout was recorded last week, the market would not have been shut down,” he said.
He added that officials would move round the market to seal shops of traders who refused to open, stressing that non-compliant individuals would bear the consequences rather than drag the entire market into another shutdown.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports indicate that a market in Ihiala Local Government Area has also been shut down for allegedly failing to comply with the directive to shun the sit-at-home order. Sources said government officials arrived at the facility and found it under lock and key, prompting authorities to seal it for one week.
Ihiala has historically been one of the flashpoints of separatist agitation in Anambra State, particularly during the peak of the Biafra movement. Criminal elements who allegedly operated under the guise of agitation reportedly established camps in the area, creating a climate of fear that discouraged commercial activities.
In a related but separate development, a Nigerian lawyer, Mr. Jaja, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), urging urgent intervention in what he described as systemic abuse of disciplinary mechanisms within the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Jaja accused the NBA of selectively deploying the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) as both a “sword” to target certain lawyers and a “shield” to protect others from accountability.
According to him, professional misconduct among Nigerian lawyers has reached alarming levels and now threatens the integrity and survival of the legal profession.
He cited instances where the NBA allegedly failed to prosecute lawyers accused of violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, including a case involving the use of NBA and Supreme Court logos on personal letterhead despite prior queries.
Jaja also referenced a 2021 request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asking the NBA to institute disciplinary proceedings against a lawyer who reportedly stood as surety for a former Chairman of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund accused of diverting public funds amounting to ₦1 trillion. He claimed no action has been taken to date.
The petitioner further alleged that the NBA declined to enforce sanctions imposed by the LPDC on some of its officials over claims of online bullying and character assassination.
Jaja, who is currently engaged in legal training programmes in Lesotho under a European Union-supported project, also drew attention to what he described as a smear campaign against him over his advocacy for the introduction of the Blue Silks rank as an alternative to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
He maintained that he had lawfully challenged the NBA in court over the right of his association to confer the proposed Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN) rank, citing constitutional provisions on freedom of association.
He therefore called on the CJN to intervene decisively to ensure equitable and impartial application of disciplinary mechanisms within the legal profession and to restore public confidence in the NBA’s regulatory framework.
