Why IPOB Declared a Total Sit-at-Home on May 30 Across Southeast
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared a total sit-at-home across the Southeast and parts of the South-South on May 30, 2025, in remembrance of Biafran heroes and heroines who “paid the ultimate sacrifice” during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war.
According to IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the day — marked annually as Biafra Heroes Memorial Day — will be observed with a full lockdown across Biafra land from 6 am to 6 pm.
“It is a day designated by IPOB for Biafrans to commemorate and pay tribute to our heroes, heroines, and those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for Biafra’s liberation and independence,” the group said in a statement released on Monday.
“No school, no community meetings, no religious services, no opening of markets and stores, and no public assemblies of any kind,” the statement added. “Simply stay inside and enjoy television and videos with your family while contemplating the genocide inflicted upon Biafrans from 1967 to the present day.”
IPOB noted it has contacted the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and state governors in the Southeast and South-South to inform them of the lockdown directive. “Messages have also been dispatched… to notify them that we will remember and pay tribute to our heroes and heroines… with a lockdown mandate.”
While protests will not hold in Nigeria, IPOB said “all IPOB family members in their various countries must organize and obtain permits to demonstrate” in solidarity with Nnamdi Kanu and Biafran victims.
Exempt from the lockdown are those providing emergency services such as doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, police officers, journalists, and NUPENG workers.
