Ugoeze Sally Nmeme Kanu, mother of the leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is dead.

Though she reportedly died over a month ago – on August 30, 2019 – the development remained a top secret until Nnamdi Kanu broke the news over the weekend through a video he uploaded on social media.

He said in the video: “Today I announce the passing of my mother Ugoeze Sally Nmeme Kanu. May Chukwu Okike Abiama grant her eternal rest.”

A reliable IPOB source who confirmed the video to be authentic told News Express this Sunday morning that Ugoeze Kanu “died after a brief illness.”

Nnamdi Kanu is, however, blaming the Nigerian Army for his mother’s death, saying that it resulted from the trauma she experienced when troops of the Operation Python Dance invaded their country home in Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State, and massacred Biafra activists found in the place.

Paying tribute to his mother, Kanu described her as a very caring and loving mother who was passionate about the actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra.