Two splinter groups of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have agreed that instead of publicly burning the Biafran Flag on October 1 as earlier planned, they would rather surrender the flag to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The two groups: The Re-branded Indigenous People of Biafra, TRIPOB, and Renegade Indigenous People of Biafra, RENIPOB, have also chosen January 15, 2017 as the date for the “surrender”, while the venue remains the Eagle Square in Abuja.

January 15, is a symbolic date as it was on that date in 1970, that the Nigerian Civil War, also called the Biafran War, came to an end.

In a joint statement on Friday, the two groups said they were nominating Charles Okah, as their “leader” who will carry out the symbolic surrender.

Recall that Okah, is currently being remanded in Kuje prison, accused of being the mastermind behind the 2010 Independence Day bombing.

The statement added that the decision not to go ahead with burning the Biafran flag was as a result of interventions by “well-meaning Nigerians across the world, especially civil war veterans of the defunct Biafra Republic.”