From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced plans to immortalise Biafran fallen heroes and heroines by erecting a cenotaph in South East State capitals, clans, villages and communities in 2026 .
Spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, in a statement, said the cenotaph would remind people in the zone of those who sacrificed their lives for them.
He said: “From 2026 and beyond, IPOB shall ensure that every community, every clan, and every state capital within Biafraland erects a cenotaph in honour of our martyrs, those we lost in the genocidal war of 1967–70 and all those slain in subsequent years by an occupying and oppressive regime.
“Their names shall be inscribed in stone, and their sacrifices documented for future generations. We owe it to them. We owe it to ourselves.”
Powerful has also commended people of the zone for complying to the sit-at-home directive by its group for Biafra fallen heroes on Friday.
“On this sacred day, May 30, 2025, Biafra stood still. From Igweocha to Onitsha, from Aba to Nsukka, from Enugu to Owerri, Owerri to Abakaliki to Delta, our people locked their shops, closed their markets, left the roads empty and honoured the silence of the graves where our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters fell in their millions. We salute the courage, discipline and deep ancestral conviction of our people in observing this sacred ritual of remembrance.
“This compliance is yet another irrefutable proof that Biafra is not a dream, Biafra is a living spirit burning in every true Biafran soul.
“We remind them that every child born of genuine Biafran blood has the map of Biafra encrypted in their DNA. Our resistance to oppression is not learned; it is inborn. Freedom is our essence and justice is our creed.
“We are the children of light, destined to rise no matter how many times the enemy plots our fall. Every Biafran is an indigenous person of Biafra, and IPOB is the embodiment of that spirit. Our quest is noble, our mission divine, and nothing will stop us from honouring our heroes from now until the end of time,” Powerful stated.