Nigeria-Biafra War: Events that Led to the Declaration of Biafra

In this edition, we take you back to the period between 1967 – 1970 when Nigeria and Biafra engaged in a bitter civil war that consumed millions of lives and destroyed several properties in the war-torn area. It was the darkest moment in the history of Nigeria as a country and in the history of the then Eastern Region which was the area declared as the independent Republic of Biafra by the then Governor of the Region, Lt. Col. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. It was a bloody war by every reasonable assessment. For Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon who was Nigeria’s Military Head of State at the time, the war was unnecessary but for Lt. Col. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of the secessionist State of Biafra, the war was the best action to be taken at the time to protect the interest of his people.