More than a thousand stores at the Bridgehead Drug Market Ogbogwu in Onitsha have been closed by Anambra State Government authorities with the support of the state security force known as Operation Udo Ga Achi (Agunechemba).
Reports that store owners had disregarded Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s order to suspend the Monday sit-at-home order across the state prompted the shutdown.
On Monday, March 16, at around 2:30 p.m., government officials and security personnel began the exercise by moving through the market and putting red “Sealed” stickers on stores that were discovered to be closed. Companies that were open and conducting business as usual were not disrupted. A number of vendors on the scene were seen phoning absent store owners to inform them that their establishments had been sealed.
Attempts to reach the Ogbogwu Market chairman, Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, for a statement were hindered by poor network connectivity. However, the President of the Ogbaru Main Market Traders Association, Ndubuisi Ochiogu, maintained that traders had been honoring the governor’s directive by keeping their shops open on Mondays. He noted that a joint monitoring team from the state government and Ogbaru Local Government Area had previously inspected the market and acknowledged the traders’ level of compliance. According to Ochiogu, participation has been growing, with more traders opening their shops each Monday in line with Governor Soludo’s order.
