Dalena Reporters – Special Feature
Nigeria — Between 1966 and 1970, Nigeria witnessed one of the darkest chapters in its history: the mass killing, persecution, and starvation of the Igbo people know as Biafra and other Eastern Nigerians, an event widely referred to by scholars, human-rights groups, and global observers as the Igbo Genocide. The tragedy unfolded in phases—ethnic pogroms in Northern Nigeria, a military coup and counter-coup, systemic targeting of Igbo civilians, and ultimately, the devastating Nigerian Civil War (Biafra War).
Nigeria’s post-independence years were marked by ethnic distrust among the country’s major groups. After the January 1966 coup, led mostly by young Igbo officers, resentment simmered in the North, where political and military leaders accused Igbos of dominating federal structures.
Although General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi—also Igbo—dissolved the regions in an attempt to unify the country, the move deepened ethnic suspicion among Northern elites.
The situation reached a breaking point after the July 1966 counter-coup, which installed Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as Head of State.
Following the coup, systematic massacres of Igbo civilians erupted across Northern Nigeria. Historical accounts estimate that between 30,000 and 50,000 Igbos were brutally killed. Survivors reported:
- House-to-house killings
- Beheadings and mutilations
- Burning of homes and churches
- Attacks at airports, markets, and railway stations
- Soldiers aiding or ignoring mob violence
Trainloads of corpses reportedly arrived in the East, triggering mass evacuations as nearly two million Igbos fled the North.
International media at the time described the violence as “mass slaughter”, “ethnic cleansing”, and “deliberate annihilation”.
Efforts to negotiate peace and security guarantees repeatedly failed. The Aburi Accord—an agreement reached between Eastern Region leader Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Gowon—collapsed shortly after the leaders returned to Nigeria.
On May 30, 1967, Ojukwu declared the independence of the Republic of Biafra to protect Easterners from further killings.
This led to the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War.
The Biafra War (1967–1970): Starvation as a Weapon
The war soon transformed into a catastrophic humanitarian disaster.
Nigeria imposed a total blockade—by land, sea, and air—cutting off food, medicine, and essential supplies to Biafra. This strategy, described by several international observers as “starvation warfare,” resulted in mass civilian deaths.
Images of skeletal children with protruding ribs and swollen stomachs—victims of kwashiorkor—shocked the world.
Estimates of the death toll vary:
1–5 million civilians, mostly Igbo, died
— the majority from starvation, disease, and lack of medical care.
International aid agencies described the situation as:
- “Genocide by starvation”
- “A calculated extermination policy”
- “One of the worst human disasters of the 20th century”
Despite global outrage, geopolitical interests prevented strong international intervention.
Aftermath: “No Victor, No Vanquished” but Lingering Wounds
The war ended on January 15, 1970, with the surrender of Biafra. General Gowon declared a policy of “Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation.”
However, for many Igbos, discrimination, marginalization, and economic exclusion persisted.
Key grievances included:
- The controversial 20-pound policy, which compensated Igbo depositors with only ₦20 regardless of pre-war bank balances.
- Expropriation of properties (“abandoned property” saga).
- Limited political representation at the federal level.
- Continued insecurity and targeted attacks in some regions.
Why Many Call It “Genocide”
Historians, including those from Canada, the U.S., and Europe, as well as international human-rights activists, have used the term “Igbo Genocide” because of:
- Targeted mass killings of an ethnic group (1966 pogroms).
- State-implemented starvation policy, which disproportionately affected Igbo civilians.
- Documented intent by certain officials and forces to destroy a population “in whole or in part,” matching the UN definition of genocide.
Although Nigeria has never officially recognized the events as genocide, global advocacy continues to push for acknowledgement, justice, and collective memory.
Call for Recognition
Across the world, diaspora communities and human-rights organisations hold memorials every May and every January to honour the dead, preserve historical truth, and advocate for structural reforms to prevent future ethnic violence in Nigeria.