The Anambra State High Court has restrained the state government from proceeding with the planned demolition of the Onitsha Main Market, in a ruling that has brought relief and jubilation to thousands of traders and occupants of the commercial hub.
Delivering the order, Justice Joseph Ifeanyi Nweze directed Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to halt any demolition activities pending further proceedings before the court.
The court also extended the restraining order to other key respondents in the suit, including the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner of Police, and the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce.
The legal action was initiated by seven plaintiffs led by Izuchukwu Paul Madubuko and represented by Nnamdi Ibegbu (SAN) under suit reference number O/MISC.35/2026.
The applicants approached the court seeking protection against the proposed demolition of structures located within the Human Fence Zone 1 Line of the market.
In the ruling dated February 25, the court acknowledged the applicants’ representation of themselves and other traders operating within the affected section of the market.
The decision temporarily halts the state government’s earlier directive ordering the immediate remodelling of the Onitsha Main Market, a move Governor Soludo had described as a “hard but necessary” step toward modernising the market and securing its future.
The court’s intervention now sets the stage for further legal deliberations on the matter.
