Ojukwu died in November in Britain at the age of 78 but his body was only flown back on Monday.
– Soldiers fired a 21-gun salute at the funeral of Odumegwu Ojukwu on Thursday as Nigerian leaders paid final respects to the man whose 1967 declaration of Biafran independence sparked a civil war.
High ranking military officers and pall bearers carry the coffin of Nigeria's secessionist leader Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (AFP, Pius Utomi Ekpei)
Preparation to Odumegwu Ojukwu’s burial today. The Nnewi roads were being worked yesterday (29/02/12), especially the Nkwo Triangle area which would serve as the parking lot for vehicles. The government has declared a two-day holiday and tightens the security in Awka and Nnewi. The Icho Mmadu ceremony - a traditional search for the dead, which is a major rite before he can buried, took place yesterday at Nnewi which was organised by the Nnewi Youth Forum in conjunction with the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, the Association of Igbo Youth Initiative Movement, AIYIM, and Okada Riders Union.Over 10, 000 youths across the South-East, who took part in this Icho Mmadu is the traditional way of burying a fallen hero. Ojukwu would be reburied by the Biafran people in line with his will. The very people he led and fought for must be given the opportunity to bury him. A traditional search for the dead, which is a major rite before he can buried, took place yesterday at Nnewi. It pays to be remembered for something good or else there would have been no need for all these……Tomorrow02/03/2012 he would laid to rest.
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