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 dire spiritual and societal consequences.
MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, made the appeal in a statement on Monday, stressing that unburied bodies in morgues were causing spiritual unrest in Igbo land.
“The wandering and restless spirits of unburied dead bodies in mortuaries are continuously possessing younger people, leading and influencing them into all manners of criminalities, evil, and wicked acts,” Madu stated.
According to him, these spiritual influences have eroded moral consciousness among the youth, fueling a dangerous obsession with wealth and reckless behavior.
“The possession and influence of spirits from unburied dead bodies have created a strong urge among Igbo youths for quick wealth without meaningful work or trading,” he added.
MASSOB also called on church leaders to stop allowing caskets inside places of worship, arguing that bringing corpses into the house of God corrupts its holiness.
“The entrance of dead bodies in a casket inside the house of God corrupts the holiness of the church. The spirit of a dead person can never rest until it is buried,” the group emphasized.
Citing Igbo cultural traditions, MASSOB described it as an abomination to keep a corpse for more than four Igbo market days and urged state governments to outlaw mortuary services entirely.
“We appeal to our governors to ban mortuary businesses and services in Igbo land,” the statement concluded.