ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra has declared a sit-at-home across the South-East on May 30 to mark the 59th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra.
MASSOB said the anniversary would serve as a period of remembrance, sober reflection, and renewed commitment to the agitation for self-determination.
In a statement issued by its National Director of Information, Edeson Samuel, the group directed that markets, schools, banks, motor parks, and other public business premises across the region remain shut from 6am to 4pm on the day.
The organisation, led by Uchenna Madu, said the anniversary commemorates the declaration of Biafra by the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu on May 30, 1967.
According to the group, the exercise is intended to honour those who lost their lives during the Nigerian civil war and reaffirm commitment to the Biafran struggle.
“MASSOB, in the spirit of true Biafranism and brotherhood among Biafra agitators and Biafrans in general, has earlier declared May 30, 2026, commemoration of Biafra Anniversary ceremony with sit-at-home exercise in Biafra land for sober reflection,” the statement read.
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The group described the closure of public places and services as a mark of honour and patriotism to victims of the civil war.
MASSOB also directed churches across the South-East to organise memorial and thanksgiving services on Sunday, May 31, in honour of those who died during the conflict.
It said the anniversary remained an important symbol of unity and remembrance among people sympathetic to the Biafran cause.
The separatist group further used the occasion to demand the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
“MASSOB is also using the Biafra declaration anniversary to show solidarity to our brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is wrongly imprisoned for the sake of Biafra,” the statement added.
The organisation insisted that agitation for Biafra would continue despite arrests, crackdowns, and security operations targeting separatist groups.
MASSOB, however, warned supporters against staging public protests, marches, or demonstrations during the anniversary activities.
“There shall be no physical demonstration, street march, procession, or any other public functions in Biafraland on May 30, 2026,” the group stated.
The organisation also alleged that security agencies were expected to deploy personnel heavily across major South-East cities during the anniversary period.
It described such anticipated deployments as attempts to intimidate agitators, insisting that the movement for self-determination could not be suppressed through force.
“No amount of security intimidation, killings, detention, oppression, or incarceration will ever stop the willpower of an indigenous people for self-determination,” MASSOB said.