The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has urged South-East governors and religious leaders to prohibit the preservation of dead bodies in mortuaries, warning of severe spiritual consequences.
In a statement issued on Monday, MASSOB leader Comrade Uchenna Madu claimed that unburied corpses in mortuaries were spiritually restless, influencing young people toward criminality and immoral behavior.
“The wandering and restless spirits of unburied bodies possess young people, leading them into all forms of crime, wickedness, and a desire for quick wealth,” Madu stated.
The group further asserted that these spiritual influences have eroded moral values, replacing them with a thirst for materialism and bloodshed.
MASSOB also called on church leaders to prohibit the presence of caskets inside places of worship, arguing that bringing dead bodies into churches desecrates their sanctity.
“The spirit of a dead person cannot find rest until it is buried. In Igbo tradition, it is an abomination to keep a corpse for more than four market days,” the statement added.
The group urged traditional leaders, religious institutions, and state governments to impose a ban on mortuary businesses in Igboland, emphasizing that the practice contradicts cultural and spiritual principles.
