On 26 November 2011, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died in the United Kingdom after a brief illness, aged 78.

On 26 November 2011, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died in the United Kingdom after a brief illness, aged 78.

The Nigerian Army accorded him the highest military accolade and conducted a funeral parade for him in Abuja, Nigeria on 27 February 2012, the day his body was flown back to Nigeria from London before his burial on Friday 2 March.

He was buried in a newly built mausoleum in his compound at Nnewi. Before his final interment, he had an elaborate weeklong funeral ceremony in Nigeria alongside Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whereby his body was carried around the five Eastern states, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, including the nation’s capital, Abuja. Memorial services and public events were also held in his honour in several places across Nigeria, including Lagos and Niger State, his birthplace, and as far away as Dallas, Texas, United States.

His funeral was attended by Goodluck Jonathan Former president of Nigeria and ex-President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana among other personalities.