The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has urged governors and religious leaders in the Southeast to prohibit the storage of deceased bodies in mortuaries.
The organization also requested that churches disallow the practice of bringing casketed bodies into places of worship during funerals.
Comrade Uchenna Madu, the leader of MASSOB, made this appeal in a statement released on Monday, March 10, as reported by DailyPost.
Madu expressed concern that unburied bodies in mortuaries are causing unrest among spirits, as they remain uncommitted to the earth.
“The restless spirits of unburied bodies in mortuaries are continuously influencing the younger generation, leading them to engage in various forms of criminal behavior and wicked acts without regard for the consequences,” he stated.
He emphasized that these spiritual disturbances have corrupted the moral compasses of the youth, replacing their values with tendencies toward immorality, violence, and an insatiable desire for wealth.
“The rampant possession of Igbo youth has fostered a yearning for quick wealth without the need for honest work or enterprise,” Madu added. He maintained that the underlying cause of rising criminal activities among young men and women in society is the influence of these unburied spirits.
MASSOB also advocated for church leaders to ban the entry of casketed bodies into churches, asserting that such acts compromise the sanctity of sacred spaces.
“The spirit of a deceased individual cannot find peace until they are properly buried. It is considered an abomination in Igbo culture to keep a deceased body for longer than four market days,” he noted.
MASSOB called on traditional and religious leaders, including governors of Igbo land, to take action against the practice of keeping deceased bodies in mortuaries, urging them to put an end to mortuary services in the region.
