Madiebo who hailed from Umuokpu, Awka, Anambra state, was 90 years old.
His death was confirmed by his family in a terse statement.
It read, “We are sad to announce the passing of General Alexander Madiebo, Chief of Staff of the Biafran Army and the last of the 3 titans. He was 90.”
General Alexander Madiebo commanded the Biafran Army from the start of the war until the end. He flew into exile with Ojukwu.
He joined the Nigerian Army in May, 1954 as an Officer Cadet. He had trainings at Regular Officers’ Special Training School (ROSTS), in Teshie, Ghana; Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School in Chester, England.
He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in December 1956. He had other trainings from other courses.
During the Nigeria-Biafra War, he first commanded Biafra’s 51 Brigade for two months before assuming full command of the Biafran Army with the rank of Major General, from September 1967, to the end of the war.
In a befitting tribute to him during his 90th birthday in April, accomplished sport writer, Emeka Obasi, described Madiebo as a cerebral officer whose documented account of the Nigerian civil war remains a global intellectual reference point, adding that much of what transpired in the various theatres did not escape his memory.
He added: “Historians are still following Madiebo. He is an everyday study in military strategy. The man is also a course in management. How he was able to face a better equipped Nigeria Army with his hungry and ill clad troops continues to draw attention all over the world.
“It was so bad that his soldiers were made to share assault rifles. Bullets were rationed in such a way that fighters did not pull the trigger unless they were sure of hitting target. One bullet par combatant a day became the norm.
“As an Awka man, Madiebo did not give up. To show frustration was treasonable. Suicide sounded like cowardice. The Army chief looked inwards and relied on Biafran engineers who came out with homemade rifles, bombs and even armoured cars”.
