THE SIT-AT-HOME ORDER IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA: ECONOMIC DISRUPTION, CIVILIAN VULNERABILITY, POLITICAL MOBILISATION, AND THE SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE

Abstract

The sit-at-home order in South-East Nigeria, initially associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) following the arrest of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in June 2021, has evolved from a declared form of civil disobedience into a recurring governance and security crisis. Although presented by its proponents as a non violent method of political protest, its enforcement has frequently involved coercion, attacks on civilians, closure of markets and schools, disruption of transport, and intimidation of residents who attempt to conduct normal economic activities. This paper examines the sit-at-home phenomenon through four interrelated lenses: economic disruption, civilian vulnerability, political mobilisation, and the search for sustainable peace. It argues that the order has imposed severe costs on small businesses, transport operators, informal workers, students, and low income households, while also weakening public confidence in state institutions. At the same time, the persistence of the order cannot be understood solely as criminal coercion; it reflects deeper grievances concerning marginalisation, insecurity, state repression, and contested political authority in the South-East. The paper concludes that a sustainable response requires a combination of rights-respecting security reform, credible dialogue, economic recovery measures, educational continuity, community-based protection, and political inclusion. A purely militarised approach risks reproducing the grievances that sustain mobilisation, while unconditional tolerance of coercive enforcement would deepen civilian suffering and institutional decay.