INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BIAFRA (IPOB) AND THE RENEWED QUEST FOR BIAFRA

Abstract

This paper tried to understand the unceasing agitation for actualisation of Biafra among those who did not experience the NigerianBiafran war (1967-1970); those on the margin of state power and the generation of those yet to recover from the traumas of the war. The renewed resurgence of Biafra as epitomised by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), brings to the fore the issues of post-civil war reconciliation in Nigeria. The official narrative is that Biafra ceased to exist on 15 January 1970. However, in the minds of millions of Igbo suffering from political and economic exclusion, the Biafran war rages on. Using both primary and secondary sources, this paper interrogates the disenchantment among the younger generation of the Igbo and how to build a new Nigeria that would be inclusive.

Headnote

Abstract: This paper tried to understand the unceasing agitation for actualisation of Biafra among those who did not experience the NigerianBiafran war (1967-1970); those on the margin of state power and the generation of those yet to recover from the traumas of the war. The renewed resurgence of Biafra as epitomised by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), brings to the fore the issues of post-civil war reconciliation in Nigeria. The official narrative is that Biafra ceased to exist on 15 January 1970. However, in the minds of millions of Igbo suffering from political and economic exclusion, the Biafran war rages on. Using both primary and secondary sources, this paper interrogates the disenchantment among the younger generation of the Igbo and how to build a new Nigeria that would be inclusive.

Keywords: Nigeria, Biafra, IPOB, Igbo, Post-Colonial, Conflict

Introduction

The post war efforts, which aimed at a proper reunification, proved futile in sustaining durable unity between a majority of the Igbo populace and the Nigerian state. Fifty years after the Nigerian-Biafran war, a notable number of her youths are disillusioned with the one Nigeria mantra thus justifying James O'Connell's assertion that 'many Igbo remained secessionists at heart even though they had accepted the Biafran defeat'1. In a bid to unify the Igbo after the war, an organizational assembly known as the Igbo National Assembly (INA) was created. Fear and suspicions drove the federal government at the time to ban the organization, which they felt the Igbo agenda may begin to sprout via the organization, hence, the creation of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo in 19762. Apart from fostering unity among the Igbo, this group, dominated by prominent Igbo politicians also claimed to fight for political representation and power for the Igbo. Since the end of the civil war, an Igbo presidency has been the main project of the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo which often times is regarded as an association of Igbo politicians. Another major demand of this group was the creation of one additional state of Igbo extraction3. However, the Igbo youths were dissatisfied with the non-radical 'snail pace' at which the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo were pushing the Igbo affair. They viewed the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo as an organization of selfish Igbo politicians who were only using the platform to fight for personal interests. This coupled with the fact that most of these youths were disgruntled with the discrimination against the Igbo after the war, heightened their susceptibility and as a result, many radical secessionist groups that evolved after the war were seethed with these fiercely eager youths. Thus, unceasing agitation for the State of Biafra is a recurring decimal in the national discourse. These generation of Igbo are what Onuoha termed 'secondary victims'-those who become victims of Nigeria contraption owing to the perpetuation of initial conditions as has been witnessed with the sprouting of different Biafran movements4.

After about five decades of the civil war in which more than two million people perished, the Biafra nightmare still reverberate among the Igbo populace. Our research interrogates the renewed quest for Biafra. To do this, we will draw on literature comprised of the civil war discourse (Achebe5, Obasanjo6, Njoku7, Madiebo8). Similarly, foreign authors and journalists who wrote on the Nigeria-Biafra war (e.g. St. Jorre9; Cervanka10; Gould11; Forsyth12; Waugh & Cronge13) discussed the course and causes of the Nigeria-Biafra war but had scant focus on the experiences of civilian-victims or how the Igbo had been reintegrated into the mainstream of the Nigerian polity. Novelists who tried to capture the events of the period (Adichie14) and (Ike15) merely fictionalised other works, some of which include those cited above. Obi-Ani is of the view that the victorious federal forces used various subterfuges to stunt Igbo recovery in post-civil war Nigeria thereby arguing that the Gowon's socalled 'no victor no vanquished' was a sham to deceive the international community16. Falola and Heaton17, Maier18 analysed the crises and instability that had rocked the postcolonial Nigerian state. Issues on IPOB: Amanambu19, Nwofe20, Ibeanu et al21examined the IPOB formation, their agitations and mass followership among the Igbo. Biafra has recently attracted the attention of genocide scholars, (Heerten and Moses22, Bird and Ottanelli23, Anthony24, Desgrandchamps25, Doron26, Levy27, and Smith28). These scholars have dissected how the Nigeria-Biafra war will remain a crucial episode in Nigerian post-civil war conflicts unless genuine efforts at healing the wounds are undertaken. Doron maintained that the propaganda tool of Biafra laid the foundation of the discussion of genocide against the Igbo. Biafra used its propaganda strategy to market genocide to the outside world. Today the issue of genocide has continued to feature in the discourse of Biafra29. Bird and Othanelli in their 'The Asaba Massacre and the Nigerian Civil War: Reclaiming Hidden History', concluded that the unresolved burden of memory has indeed become a potent symbol of festering injustices. They maintained that addressing the memory of the war will contribute to meaningful reconciliation30. Nonetheless, there is an officially sanctioned amnesia of the event. But, the socio-political and economic marginalization, militancy, kidnapping, farmers-herders conflict has resurrected the Biafran discourse in the public spaces. Thus, Anthony avers that even as the immediate threat of genocide faded with the end of the shooting war, the trauma of 1966 and the war years did not31. The experiences of the people during the period are no longer expressed in private spaces, the wounds are yet to be healed, genuine reconciliation is yet to be effected. The ghost of Biafra is yet to be laid to rest. As such, Heerten and Moses aver that 'dealing with the history of the war is important for an understanding of the fabric of postcolonial Nigeria of the international order in which the event unfolded'32. However, the official denial of Biafra and the suppression of memory of Biafra have metamorphosed into a new phenomenon in Igboland especially of generation of those who did not experience the war but who rejected docility in the face of festering injustices.

IPOB embodies the continuity of the war because of the perceived political and economic marginalisation of the Igbo since the cessation of the Nigerian-Biafran war in 1970. So far, many groups seeking for an Igbo secession have evolved with names such as Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM), Movement for The Actualization of The Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Of all these groups however, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in recent years has been more influential than the others and will therefore form the focal point of this paper.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which like the MASSOB is also an Igbo separatist group founded in 2014. The movement wants a group of states in south-east Nigeria, made up mainly of people from the Igbo ethnic group, to break away and form the independent nation of Biafra. The organization carries out its agitation activities through unarmed protests, media messages, radio broadcasts and civil disobedience. The group operates a London based radio station which was established in 2009. In Nigeria, access to the frequency modulation (FM) broadcasts is available in six States (Abia, Anambra, Imo, Port-Harcourt, Ebonyi and Enugu) although there are restraints to its access in some of these areas. In other States which may not have any access to the Frequency Modulation, the broadcasts can be listened to online as the group also runs a web based radio station. According to the director Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, 'the new Radio Biafra had been broadcasting from London, on short wave frequency since 2009, he further revealed that Radio Biafra broadcast was brought home to intensify the struggle for Biafran restoration by creating awareness and mobilizing the indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other Pro-Biafran groups like the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) towards achieving the goal'33. Efforts of government to shut down the radio station were unsuccessful as it still broadcast today on 102.1 FM and 15.6 AM at different wavelengths34. However, while some have alleged that the radio station spreads hate speeches and incites war in Nigeria (which Nnamdi Kanu often refers to as a zoo in his broadcasts), supporters of the group have vehemently asserted that the radio broadcasts were only being truthful. An informant had asserted;

Nnamdi Kanu is only speaking the raw truth and that's why these Nigerians who don't like hearing the truth are angry with him. Being truthful has nothing to do with hate speech instead, people hate you for speaking the truth35.

Nevertheless, phrases such as monkeys and baboons (referring to Nigerian citizens), zoo republic (referring to Nigeria), Biafra or nothing, the zoo must fall, Ohaneze ndi aturu na ndi eberibe (Ohaneze Ndigbo- an association of sheep and fools), are some derogatory words often used by the IPOB leader in some of his broadcasts. From the messages passed through these broadcasts, the group's mission and activities are made known to the public. The sit at home order for members of the group normally holds on the 30th May36 (the day Ojukwu the then military Governor of Eastern Region and later the Military Head of Republic of Biafra declared Biafran independence in May,1967) of every year which they have mapped out as a day to remember Biafran fallen heroes. The issue of victimization as a reason for secession is buttressed in the organization's letter to the United Nations on the 19th of December 2013. Below is a duplicate of the letter37.

An informant stated that Nnamdi Kanu's Biafra will be one free of corruption, underdevelopment and ethnic sentiment where constituent units would be developed with indigenous technology. He further asserted that the problem of neglected sea ports and airports which have been one of the major reasons for IPOB's agitations would be resolved38. In a radio broadcast by the group's leader, he posited:

The proposed Constitution of the upcoming United States of Biafra is that Biafra will run a unique political system designed to carter for the needs of our people. We are going to have nation states; we will have an Igbo Nation within Biafra; we will have an Efik Nation within Biafra; We will have Annag Nation within Biafra, if they so choose. We will also have Ijaw Nation within Biafra; we will have Isoko Nation within Biafra, Idoma Nation within Biafra; we will equally have Igala Nation within Biafra, and they will all be autonomous. Each nation state will control the resources in their own land. The only thing that will bind us together will be a common defense, economic, health and education policy. The people will develop the best policies according to the pace that they wish or they decided amongst themselves to go by. Mr Kanu, the group's leader also assured that, laws will be done in local languages, Igbo Parliament will make their own laws in Igbo language. Ijaw Parliament will make their own laws in Ijaw language. The same thing applies to Ibibio and others so that when people are lying to us, we will know because you know lying is good in English language, but you can't deceive the people when you are actually speaking in the language that they understand39.

Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Kenny Okwu Kanu is the known leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and also the director of Radio Biafra. He was born in Isiama- Afara, Abia state, Nigeria and studied in the University of Nigeria for two years but had to migrate to Europe in order to finish his studies following delays occasioned by incessant strikes by the University's academic and nonacademic staff. Kanu was later admitted to London Guildhall University now known as London Metropolitan University to study Political Economics40. He founded the Radio Biafra in 200941, since then, he has been very active in his secessionist activities and just like the MASSOB, he firmly believes that the Igbo are Jews and constantly refers to himself as one.

On 14th of October, 2015, he visited Nigeria42,where he was arrested in his hotel room at Golden Tulip Essential Hotel Ikeja, Lagos State on charges of treason43. On October 18, 2015, his followers took to the streets in several major cities in southeastern Nigerian protesting against his arrest. On the 19th of October 2015, it was reported that Nnamdi Kanu had been granted bail after a secret arraignment at Magistrate Court, Wuse 11, under stringent bail conditions.44 However, "upon the issuance of the Form 36, the court Ordeal was unable to produce Mr Kanu. Kanu's continual incarceration despite meeting his bail conditions, prompted the lawyer to tag the anomaly, 'a clash between judiciary and executive' in a democratic government45. In a statement, Prof Nwala also condemned the continual detention of Mr Kanu despite calls for his release by local and foreign governments and organizations. In Nigeria, governments and leadership of various zones from within and outside the Eastern parts of Nigeria appealed to the President to release Mr. Kanu, whom, everyone knows as an unarmed, non-violent prisoner of conscience46. Rather, he was arraigned in an Abuja magistrate court for the first time on November 23, 2015 on the charges of 'criminal conspiracy, intimidation and membership of an illegal organization' - charges that could amount to treason47. On that day, his supporters went to Abuja (the capital of Nigeria) on a peaceful protest. They protested with placards, sang and danced outside the court premises while the hearing proceeded. Inscriptions like 'Biafra Now or Never', 'Buhari Release Kanu For Us', 'On Biafra We Stand', were written on their T-shirts. More protests by IPOB members numbering over 15,000 and 20,000 protesters grounded vehicular movements in the southeastern key economic cities of Onitsha and Aba concurrently48.

However, the government ignored several court orders calling for Mr Kanu's bail until nearly two years when a court order on the 28 th of April 2017 granted bail to Mr.Kanu 'on health ground', while giving a list of stringent bail conditions to meet if he intended to stay free. The IPOB leader was banned from public speaking, granting interviews or being in a group of more than ten people. As a condition of that bail, Mr Kanu had to bring a prominent Igbo leader, a wealthy resident of Abuja and a senior Nigerian Jewish leader to provide 100m naira ($260,000; £200,000) each as surety49. Nonetheless, as soon as Mr. Kanu was out of the prison, he went against his bail conditions. He asserted thus:

I am a Biafran that holds a British citizenship. Nigerian law courts and their judges are of no consequence to me. I am not a Nigerian citizen; therefore, your bail revocation is completely meaningless to me. My devotion to the absolute and puritanical pursuit of the total restoration of the sovereignty of the Republic of Biafra is unwavering50.

Protests and activities by the IPOB members increased during this time and in response, the government initiated a program which it termed 'Operation Python Dance'.

Operation Python Dance II and The Proscription Of IPOB

The operation as declared by the Army is intended to check kidnapping, banditry, assassination and secessionist activities within the Southeastern region, amongst other forms of criminal activities. On the commencement of the exercise on the streets of Umuahia, at the country home of the IPOB leader, there was a confrontation between the Nigerian Army and members of IPOB on Sunday, September 10, 2017. A day presumed to be the commencement date of the said Operation Python Dance II and was expected to end on October 14, 2017 in the South East51. According to the group's media and publicity secretary Emma Powerful, he alleged that during the confrontation of September 10, 2017, IPOB members were killed by the Nigerian army. He further stated:

Soldiers of the Nigerian Army and the Police have surrounded our leader's house today being September 12, 2017, to harm Kanu and other IPOB members who strongly believe and fight in the struggle for the liberation of Biafran people, the soldiers of Operation Python Dance are now seriously embarking on forceful abduction of Biafrans, brutalizing anybody seen with Biafra insignia, whether it is in their vehicle or houses and called on the international community to prevail on the Nigeria Government to leave Biafrans alone52.

In a verbal reaction to the situation in Abia State, the Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, in an interview with a Vanguard correspondent retorted that there was no cause for alarm.

We are managing the situation. We know that people are apprehensive because they see a lot of military presence. It's a special operation approved for the South East. Military high command sensitized members of the public on what is going on. That is exactly what is going on now. Their presence should be complimentary efforts to support what we have been doing so far. We finished our security meeting and I advised the Governors to make a public announcement to assure members of the public that there is no cause for alarm. So far, we have not recorded any casualty. What is happening is that wherever they see the patrol vehicles, IPOB members threaten them with broken bottles. They should not see it that way. I assure you that we are on ground to ensure that all commuters and those going about their lawful duties are given free passage53.

This claim was however refuted by the IPOB leadership who alleged that at about 3.02 pm of September 12, 2017, 15 of its members on a solidarity visit to Mr.Kanu from Isiala Ngwa to Umuahia were shot dead at an Army Checkpoint while others sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds54. A video which displayed soldiers maltreating a group of young boys who had gone to show solidarity to the IPOB leader surfaced during this time55. The subsequent attack on Nnamdi Kanu's residence by soldiers however opposed the said purpose of the operation and increased the tension in the state. The IPOB leader's residence was ransacked by soldiers in a bid to apprehend him. It however, turned out to be an exercise in futility as his whereabouts became unknown. During this time, there were reports that journalists were also attacked by soldiers who accused them of writing reports that were against their motive in the occupied area. It was recorded that about 20 soldiers had ascended a building from which the journalists were observing them, held them hostage for about 10 minutes within which they assaulted the journalists, smashing their I-pads, phones and other working devices. The soldiers accused the journalists of writing 'nonsense' about the military as well as recording videos and taking photographs that denigrate them56. One of the journalists recorded their experiences thus:

At about 10.15am today (Tuesday, Septembers, 2017) a convoy of armed military personnel, apparently on a show of force in Umuahia, approached the Aba/Umuahia Road/Railway intersection, which is close to the Nigeria Union of Journalist NUJ Press Centre as I was just stepping into the office. Some of my colleagues were watching from the balcony, while I was watching from the window. As they were negotiating round the Tower to Bende Road, some of their trucks stopped and I noticed one of the soldiers pointing at me. Simultaneously, I saw many soldiers jump down from two trucks and headed towards our office. Swooping on our office, one of them pointed at me and ordered me to give him my phone. I told him that I had no phone with me at that material time; he slapped me and ordered me to open my bag which I was carrying. As I was bringing the contents out, I brought out my Samsung Tablet 3, he snatched it from me and smashed it. They equally collected another phone from Sunday Nwakanma of Daily Times and destroyed it with their gun and made away with another phone belonging to Comrade Chidi Asonye of the Authority Newspapers.57

The commander of the 14 Brigade, General Abdukalifa Ibrahim however expressed his regrets and sent apologies to the journalists58. In the latter days that ensued after the incident, it was reported that curfews were enacted from 7am to 6pm in the State.

The arrest of any IPOB supporter or anyone who had the flag or poster became rife. Those who listened to the Radio Biafra did so within the confines of their homes. There were also reports of military brutality on unarmed civilians who were suspected to be IPOB sympathizers. A video of such brutality revealed a group of soldiers forcing some young boys to crawl in a pool of dirty, muddy water was leaked. Most of these boys had the Biafra flags, posters or other insignias with them59. In the midst of these tensions, the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo decried the operation, remarked it as one that was unnecessary. In his statement, Chief John Nnia Nwodo -the president of the organization, gave a rundown of the activities of the operation, criticizing it and beckoning on the Federal government to quell the operation. The statement reads as follows:

On September 8, 2017, Major General D D Ahmadu, Chief of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army, announced an exercise called Operation Python Dance II, which he said was going to take place in the five South Eastern states to address 'rampancy of assassinations, attack on security personnel, theft of weapons, violent agitations, armed banditry and kidnapping. Operation Python Dance 1 has been on for quite a while in the South East. Whilst Operation Python Dance 1 lasted, major roads, entries and exits of important cities in the South East had zigzag check points supervised by members of the Nigerian Army. They turned out to be toll gates used in extorting money under gun point from helpless motorists. Our people were shamelessly intimidated and harassed at these check points. Operation Python Dance 1 procured no arrests of criminals that were prosecuted for any of the criminal activities that Operation Python Dance II is supposed to address. Instead, it witnessed reckless and indiscriminate murder of self-determination agitators in Asaba, Aba, Nkpor, and Port-Harcourt numbering up to 191 by the estimates of Transparency International and shattered public confidence of South Easterners in the Nigerian Army and Police60.

He further reiterated that:

Operation Python Dance II announced to be launched for the five South Eastern states whose crime rates by Police statistics are not the highest in the country, turned out to focus on a tiny suburban road leading to the home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB Leader. Last night, that road was visited by a combined team of Police and Military personnel with Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and armed personnel. Video posts from IPOB and the Nigerian Army did not indicate any act of disobedience before the invasion of this suburban environment. We believe that it is a deliberate invasion of a quiet homestead, an act of provocation and a continuing policy of intimidation. Crimes of monstrous proportions are occurring in other parts of Nigeria. Such crimes include ravaging killings by Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt, Secret cult killings in Lagos and the South West, bunkering and armed resistance in the Delta, wanton kidnappings and killing of military personnel in Kaduna State and environs as well as Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. The Nigerian Army has never embarked on Operation Python Dance in any of the other five geopolitical zones on account of these incidences. Innocent civilians living in these other parts of Nigeria have not witnessed the type of invasion Umuahia witnessed last night. Ohanaeze Ndigbo is left with no alternative than to conclude that this is a containment policy aimed at the South East to intimidate our people from freely expressing their anger and angst at their marginalization and treatment as second-class citizens61.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo therefore called on the Federal Government to call off the phony Operation.

In the same manner, there was also an outcry by the Southeast senators concerning the military activities in the Southeast. According to Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe;

It is daunting that the operation 'python dance II' operating in the South East in a peace time, has no doubt fouled the environment and sent strong signal that the region is under siege, which should not be so in a democracy. We, therefore, urge extreme caution, and advise the Military to de-escalate the situation and choose the best operational modus that will not only guaranty the safety of Nigerians, but also enhance national unity. Nigeria is not at war, people are only exercising their constitutional and universally guaranteed rights. So far, they are carrying on in a manner that have never given room to violence which could warrant a wholesale military expedition.62

The South-East Senators also pushed for dialogue as a means to settle the uprisings in the southeast. Nevertheless, the soldiers were stationed at some strategic checkpoints to check on the activities of the people. Sometimes, people returning from the market were required to lift up their hands when they walk past a checkpoint and they were also careful not to identify with the IPOB63.

In the midst of all these furor, Nnamdi Kanu was declared missing by the military who raided his home. Funny enough, he resurfaced in Israel almost a year later. How he had eluded the soldiers, still remains a controversy. On the 20th of September 2017, IPOB was proscribed as a terrorist group by the acting chief judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafarati64. The proscription had been judged by many as one which is baseless because of the none terrorist activities of the IPOB. An informant had bitterly complained:

While the Fulani herdsmen were busy killing innocent people with impunity, IPOB which has nothing to do with taking of life is being called terrorist and to say we are not marginalized in this country? Little wonder our leader calls it a zoo65.

Another informant asserted, "If you say that IPOB is a terrorist group, then what would you call the Fulani herdsmen?66. The proscription is very funny though, no other country recognizes IPOB as terrorist group except Nigeria. However, the mayhem of armed Fulani herders in Nigeria has left thousands of Nigerian citizens in Southern Kaduna, Middle belt, Southsouth, Southeast and Southwest displaced, traumatized and butchered. Yet, the federal government of Nigeria treat this non-state army of occupation with kids' glove. Thus, sending a signal that the clampdown on IPOB members who are unarmed by the security agents, is a deliberate agenda of Buhari's administration against the Igbo ethnic group. In a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria, every effort should be made by those at the helm of affairs to be seen not to be partial in the discharge of their duties. A situation where there is an ethnic undertone in government policies, portends a dangerous situation.

Instances of Confrontations with Security Agents

Unfortunately, before the above event, there had been serious clashes between the IPOB and security agents in which the protesters either lost their lives or were seriously injured. It was reported that on 2nd December 2015, protesters were shot by soldiers at Onitsha head bridge during a march. Six people were reportedly killed while 12 were alleges to be injured. On the 9th of February 2016, several IPOB members had gathered at the National High School in Aba, Abia state to pray for their leader Nnamdi Kanu who was being arraigned in court on that same day. However, it was reported that as soon as they commenced, four police men and several soldiers arrived at the scene and arrested the coordinators and while they were being taken away, shooting started. Four days later (13th February), 13 corpses were discovered in a pit along the Aba-Port Harcourt express way67. Local Human Rights Defenders however confirmed that those were the bodies of the men taken away by the security agents four days ago at the National High School, Aba68. Amnesty International reports that eight of the men had their hands tied behind their backs, three of whom were blindfolded. They also reported that a Biafra flag was seen lying close to the bodies while there was no insect activity or strong smell, indicating that a chemical had been used69. As reported by Amnesty International, a military source had confidentially asserted that after the shooting at the school, the soldiers had carried the corpses as well as injured detainees to the military barracks in Asa, Aba. He further disclosed that some of those injured bled to death and thereafter, all the corpses were dumped in a borrow pit where they poured chemicals on them70.

The events of 30th May, 2016 was a very remarkable one. On the aforementioned date, approximately over a thousand protesters had gathered for a rally in Onitsha, Anambra State to mark the 49th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Biafra. The rallies were disrupted when soldiers started shooting at the protesters. Three areas of Nkpor, Onitsha and Asaba were especially targeted. Though the exact number of victims is unknown, Amnesty International gave an estimate of over 60 recorded deaths and over 70 allegedly injured. Days after the incident, some delegates of the Organization (Amnesty International) had reported that over 41 patients were being treated for gunshot wounds in the leg, stomach, ankle and arm in a nearby hospital71. More so, an account of their visit to the mortuary revealed that some of them were shot at the back, an indicator that they may have tried fleeing the pandemonium when they got shot. In Asaba, it was reported that there had been three instances of shooting by the security agents as the bridge which linked Asaba and Onitsha was seethed with soldiers, policemen and Navy officers who patrolled the area to prevent people from crossing over to Onitsha to join the rally72.

However, since the release of Nnamdi Kanu and the incidence of the Operation Python Dance, IPOB activities had lessened in the Southeastern States though there had been pockets of protests here and there. Some had suggested that the arrest of the IPOB leader and the subsequent raid of his residence was a big mistake on the government's part as it garnered him more international recognition and momentum. Others have however applauded the move by the government regarding it as one which would dissuade other individuals that may rise to divide the country. It has also been reported that IPOB members abroad have in some occasions, harassed Igbo politicians (when these politicians travel for a visit or event) whom they accuse of being nonchalant towards the Igbo marginalization in Nigeria. One of such is the harassment of Senator Ike Ekweremmadu on the 15th of August 2019 by the IPOB members in Germany where he had attended an Igbo Union event.

As the 2019 presidential election approached, Nnamdi Kanu beckoned on IPOB members to boycott the election. He assured his followers that in the event of a successful election boycott, the Federal Government may be forced to grant them referendum. Apposite to this order, the group's Media and Publicity Secretary stated:

Our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, during his weekly radio Biafra broadcast from the holy land of Israel on Saturday evening reaffirmed strongly to the people and gullible Nigerians who still doubt our stand towards boycotting the forthcoming presidential election next month. It is crystal clear that one of our major lethal weapons to achieve this present Biafra demand is civil disobedience. Therefore, we urge Biafrans, both home and abroad, to advise their families not to vote and totally boycott this coming election no matter the level of promises and inducement politicians of these days might have given them73.

However, some days to the election, the IPOB leader called off the boycott stating that the IPOB has reached a decision with the 'stake holders' to call off the planned election boycott. In a statement by Emma Powerful, he had alleged:

After a brief emergency session of the Directorate of State late last night presided over by our leader, it was determined that all our terms and conditions had been met by those wishing us to lift the ban on voting, it was unanimously agreed that the boycott should be lifted. The signed document agreeing to IPOB terms and conditions are in our possession and will be made public in due course74.

Nevertheless, the evidence of such agreement is yet to suffice. So far, the protests to secede from Nigeria both by the MASSOB and IPOB have been met with stiff opposition from the government and just like the MASSOB, some members of the IPOB have either been killed, wounded or imprisoned. The two factions apart from their struggle for secession, have also been known to use rhetoric as a means of assuring their followers of freedom from the Nigerian enclave. In summary, although the demands of these groups have revealed some of the grievances of the Igbo in Nigeria, they have only attracted brutal reproach from the federal government to their own detriment. A case is a recent event, on August 23,2020, where Emene community was awash with the blood of her youth who assembled at Emene Community High School to have their Jewish prayers and training in martial arts75. It is said that the school premises have been a beehive of activities on Sundays as people converge for their various sporting activities. IPOB members have equally been having their prayer meetings and training for several months in the school. On that fateful day, security agents comprising soldiers, air force, police and operatives of Department of State Services arrived the premises and opened fire on them. It was recorded that no less than 22 youth were massacred.76. Unfortunately, in the ensuing fracas between the security agents and IPOB members, people going to church and tricycle riders were not spared. The Biafran struggle has been watered with the blood of martyrs. It is being suggested that a new approach be adopted in the quest for the actualization of Biafra. A more diplomatic and round table dialogue by both the federal authority and the Igbo leaders could provide more fruitful results and spare the people the incessant and reckless murder of her youths by trigger happy security agents.

Conclusion

The persistence in the agitation for secession by the Igbo decades after the brutal Nigeria-Biafra war only echoes the ills of the post war reconciliation scheme thus buttressing the Igbo stance that the so-called efforts at reintegrating the Igbo into the Nigerian family was a sham. The claim that the past determines the present and the present determines the future and these events occurring at any particular time are dependent on the result of what has happened before and these things as they are today will follow into future generations77. Thus, the attempt to marginalize the Igbo at the end of the war through State policies such as: state creation, quota system, lack of employment opportunities in federal parastatals, none siting of major industrial establishments like petro-chemicals, international seaports and airports are so glaring that even the blind understands its intentions to stagnate the Igbo.

It is an already established fact that the agitation for Igbo secession started with the counter coup of 29 July,1966, the pogrom and the civil war which decimated the cream of the Igbo society. Since the end of the civil war, the Igbo have been treated as second class citizens in all spheres of life in Nigeria. For those born after the war, what their parents were able to endure within the Nigerian federation, they are finding it difficult to cope with. He that sows the wind, will reap the whirlwind. This is the crux of the matter which Nigerian leaders must address with fairness and justice if the ghost of Biafra will be permanently buried.

Rwanda for instance, passed through a worst turmoil. But a perceptive statesman had undertaken the healing process with greater sense of earnestness and equity. The people with the help of international community have pursued with vigor true sense of justice by ensuring that all those who were implicated in the genocide of 1994 were served a good measure of justice no matter where they may run to in the four corners of the world. In retrospect, those who masterminded the pogrom in Nigeria and who committed war crimes during the civil war were never made to face justice. Thus, a justice system that is skewed against the downtrodden and the oppressed would continue to create fissures and agitators.

Article elaborated based on the Institutional Project "Modernization of Governing Mechanisms Focused on the Protection of Human Rights" within the Scientific Research Laboratory "Compared Public Law and e-Government", Law Faculty, Moldova State University

Footnote

1 Okechukwu Ibeanu, Nwachukwu Orji and Chijioke K. Amadi, Biafra Separatism: Causes, Consequences and Remedies, (Enugu: Institute for Innovations in Development, 2016), 6.

2 "Welcome to Ohaneze", www.ohanezendigboenugu.org, accessed January 10, 2019.

3 Johannes Harnischfeger," Igbo Nationalism and Biafra", www.afrikanistikaegyptologie-online, accessed January 1, 2019.

4 G. Onuoha,"Memory, Reconciliation and Peace -building in Post-Civil War Southeastern Nigeria", Princeton University, June 2018, 21-22.

5 C. Achebe, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, (London: Penguin Group, 2012), pt.95.See also H.M, Njoku, Tragedy Without Heroes: The Nigeria -Biafra War (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1987), 79-95.

6 O. Obasanjo, Nzeogwu, (Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited, 1985).

7 H.M., Njoku, Tragedy Without Heroes: The Nigeria -Biafra War (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1987), 79-95.

8 A.A. Madiebo, The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War. (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1980), 175.

9 J. De St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972).

10 Z. Cervenka, A History of the Nigerian War 1967-1970, (Ibadan: Onibonje Press, 1972).

11 M. Gould, The Biafran War: The Struggle for Modern Nigeria, (London: I.B. Taurius & Co. Ltd., 2013), 85.

12 F. Forsyth, The Making of an African Legend: The Biafran Story, (New York: Penguin Book, 1969).

13 A.Waugh, and S. Cronje, Biafra: Britain's Shame, (London: Michael Joseph LTD, 1969).

14 C.N. Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun, (Lagos: Kachifo Limited, 2006).

15 C. Ike, Sunset at Dawn, (Ibadan, University Press PLC,2014).

16 P. Obi-Ani, Post-Civil War Political and Economic Reconstruction of Igboland, 1970-1983.

17 T. Falola. & M.M. Heaton, A History of Nigeria. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

18 K. Maier, This House has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis, (London: Penguin Group, 2000), 59.

19 U.E. Amamnabu, A Critical Reflection on the Biafran Agitation and the questions of Nigeria Amalgamation in 1914", Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities, vol.3 no5, July 2017.

20 E.S. Nwofe, "Pro-Biafran Activists and the Call for a Referendum: A Sentiment Analysis of "Biafraexit" on Twitter after Uk's vote to Leave the European Union", Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, vol.1, No 1, 61-81.

21 Okechukwu Ibeanu, Nwachukwu Orji and Chijioke K. Amadi, Biafra Separatism: Causes, Consequences and Remedies....6.

22 L. Heerten & D. Moses," The Nigerian-Biafran War; Postcolonial Conflict and the Question of Genocide" in Journal of Genocide Research, vol.16. no 2-3 2014, 169-203.

23 S.E. Bird &F. Ottanelli, The Asaba Massacre and the Nigerian Civil War: Reclaming Hidden History in Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 16. no 2-3 2014, 379-399.

24 D. Anthony, "Ours is a War of Survival: Biafra, Nigeria and Arguments about Genocide, 1966-1970", in The Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 16. no 2-3 2014, 205-225.

25 M. Desgrandchams, "Dealing with 'Genocide': The ICRC and UN during the Nigerian-Biafran War, 1967-70", in The Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 16. no 2-3 2014, 281-297.

26 R. Doron, 'Marketing Genocide: Biafran Propaganda Strategies during the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-70", in The Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 16. no 2-3, 2014, 227-246.

27 27 Z. Levy,"Isreal, Nigeria and the Biafran Civil War 1967-70", in The Journal of Genocide Research, vol.16. no 2-3, 2014, 263-280.

28 K.E. Smith,"The UK and 'Genocide' in Biafra", in The Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 16. no 2-3 2014, 247-262.

29 R. Doron, 'Marketing Genocide: Biafran Propaganda Strategies during the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-70"... 227-246.

30 S.E. Bird &F. Ottanelli, "The Asaba Massacre and the Nigerian Civil War: Reclaming Hidden History .379-399.

31 D. Anthony, "Ours is a War of Survival: Biafra, Nigeria and Arguments about Genocide, 1966-1970"...205-225.

32 L. Heerten & D. Moses," The Nigerian-Biafran War; Postcolonial Conflict and the Question of Genocide" in Journal of Genocide Research, vol.16. no 2-3, 2014, 169-203.

33 Nwafor, Gideon and Omeovah, Blessing, "Analysis of Radio Biafra Effectiveness on The Renewed Agitation for The Restoration of Biafra Republic Among Listeners in Onitsha Metropolis", 1, www.researchgate.net, accessed February 21, 2019.

34 Nwafor, Gideon and Omeovah, Blessing. "Analysis of Radio Biafra Effectiveness on The Renewed Agitation for The Restoration of Biafra Republic Among Listeners in Onitsha Metropolis.",..2

35 Obiorah Pius, shop owner, C.45 years, interview held at Aba, 4th November 2018.

36 The call for sit at home on May 30, 2017 marking the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra was a huge success in the five Southeastern States. Movement and businesses were crippled even in the Northern Nigeria where a substantial number of Igbo are domiciled. The success of the sit at home prompted the Arewa youth (The youth wing of Northern socio-cultural organization-Arewa) to give the Igbo domiciled in the North a quit notice to exit from all the Northern States while calling for the arrest of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu. Pressures from both UN and other international and local commentators forced them to rescind.

37 www.indigenouspeoplesofbiafra.org

38 Stephen Chukwuanu, Trader, C. 60 years, interviewed at Aba, 23 September, 2017.

39 J. Egbas" This is what new nation will look like", www.pulse.ng, September 22, 2017.

40 G. Christen, "Full Biography of Nnamdi Kanu And How He Became a Living God in Nigeria", www.entorm.com, accessed July 20, 2019.

41 BBC NEWS, "Biafran Leader Nnamdi Kanu: The Man Behind the Nigeria's Separatists, May 2, 2017.

42 He was held at Kuje prison in the capital Abuja for nearly two years since his arrest in October 2015 on charges of criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society.

43 I. Asomba, "Radio Biafra Director, Nnamdi Kanu Repotedly Arrested"' Vanguard, October 18, 2015. See also, E. Ikhilae," How Biafra Radio Chief Kanu was Arested in Lagos, by DSS," December 28, 2015.

44 Three sureties were needed. They are the Chairman of the Senate's South-East Caucus, Eyinnaya Abaribe, A Jewish priest, Immanuel Shalom, and an accountant and Abuja resident, Tochukwu Uchendu. See, E Okakwu," Updated: Nnamdi Kanu Released from prison, sureties identified" April 28, 2017.

45 C. Gaffey." Nigeria Is Putting Nnamdi Kanu On Trial but He's Been Missing For Weeks", www.newsweek.com, accessed July 20, 2019.

46 T. David, " Biafra: Why Igbo Need IPOB - Prof Nwala, www.sunnewsonline.com, accessed on March 6,2020.,

47 BBC NEWS, "Biafran Leader Nnamdi Kanu:The Man Behind the Nigeria's Separatists, May 2, 2017.

48 BBC NEWS, "Biafran Leader Nnamdi Kanu:The Man Behind the Nigeria's Separatists, May 2, 2017.

49 Radio Biafra Online, www.liveonlineradio.net

50 Radio Biafra Online, www.liveonlineradio.net

51 V. Ujumadu & A Okoli," Operation Python Dance 11: One Week After", Vanguard, September 23, 2017.

52 T. Okafor, "I Can Cause Trouble for Nigeria If Provoked - Nnamdi Kanu", www.punchng.com, accessed July 20, 2019. See also, BBC NEWS, "Biafran Leader Nnamdi Kanu: The Man Behind the Nigeria's Separatists, May 2, 2017.

53 C. Gabriel et al, "Operation Python Dance II: Abia Govt Slams 3-Day Curfew, Soldiers Apologize", Vanguard, September 13, 2017.

54 C. Gabriel et al, "Operation Python Dance II: Abia Govt Slams 3-Day Curfew, Soldiers Apologize", Vanguard, September 13, 2017.

55 "MUST WATCH! Nigerian Soldiers Torture IPOB Members, Force Them to Sleep in And Drink Dirty Water", www.youtube.com, accessed March 27, 2019. See also, V. Ujumadu, "Biafra: The other side of Operation Python Dance", Vanguard, September 19, 2017.

56 C. Gabriel et al, "Operation Python Dance II: Abia Govt Slams 3-Day Curfew, Soldiers Apologize", Vanguard, September 13, 2017.

57 C. Gabriel et al, "Operation Python Dance II: Abia Govt Slams 3-Day Curfew, Soldiers Apologize", Vanguard, September 13, 2017.

58 C. Gabriel et al, "Operation Python Dance II: Abia Govt Slams 3-Day Curfew, Soldiers Apologize", Vanguard, September 13, 2017.

59 C. Gabriel et al, "Operation Python Dance II: Abia Govt Slams 3-Day Curfew, Soldiers Apologize", Vanguard, September 13, 2017.

60 O. Nzeshi, O. Eze & S. Uzoechi, "Ohaneze Demands Military's Withdrawal from S'East," New Telegraph, September^, 2017.

61 O. Nzeshi, O. Eze & S. Uzoechi, "Ohaneze Demands Military's Withdrawal from S'East," New Telegraph, September^, 2017.

Footnote

62 O. Nzeshi, O. Eze & S. Uzoechi ' Ohaneze Demands Military's Withdrawal from S'East,' New Telegraph, September13, 2017.

63 Chika Isaac, businessman, C.40 years, Interviewed at Aba, Abia State, September 18, 2018.

64 An Abuja Federal High Court granted an order declaring the activities of IPOB as "acts of terrorism and illegality. Following an ex-parte motion filed by Attorney General of the federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, in suit No:FHC/ABJ/CS/8712017. The court granted the order and proscribed the existence of IPOB throughout Nigeria, with particular attention paid to South east and South South. (V. Ujumadu & A Okoli," Operation Python Dance 11: One Week After", Vanguard, September 23, 2017).

65 Chika Isaac, businessman, C.40 years, Interviewed at Aba, Abia State, September 18, 2018.

66 Chiemela Sebastine, C.21 years, interviewed at Aba, Abia State, November 4, 2017.

67 "Nigeria: 'Bullets Were Raining Everywhere': Deadly Repression of Pro-Biafra Activists" published by Amnesty International, 2016, 26.

68 "Nigeria: 'Bullets Were Raining Everywhere': Deadly Repression of Pro-Biafra Activists" published by Amnesty International, 2016, 24.

69 "Nigeria: 'Bullets Were Raining Everywhere': Deadly Repression of Pro-Biafra Activists" published by Amnesty International, 2016, 32.

70 "Nigeria: 'Bullets Were Raining Everywhere': Deadly Repression of Pro-Biafra Activists" published by Amnesty International, 2016, 33.

71 "Nigeria: 'Bullets Were Raining Everywhere': Deadly Repression of Pro-Biafra Activists" published by Amnesty International, 2016, 33.

72 "Nigeria: 'Bullets Were Raining Everywhere': Deadly Repression of Pro-Biafra Activists" published by Amnesty International, 2016, 33.

73 C. Ogbanna, "IPOB Gives Reasons for Election Boycott", www.punchng.com, accessed August 1, 2019.

74 T. Okafor, "Nnamdi Kanu Calls Off Election Boycott in South-East," www.punchng.com, accessed August 1, 2019.

75 Raphael Ede,"Bloody Sunday in Enugu as Security agents hunting for IPOB kill unarmed people", Punch Newspaper,August 27,2020, https://punchng.com/bloodysunday-in-enugu-as-security-agents-hunting-for-ipob-kill-unarmed-people/

76 Ibid.

77 I.D. Ikerionwu," The Place of Ndi-Igbo In Nigeria's Social and Economic Development", Journal of Education Research and Behavioral Sciences, nos. 239249(2013), 248 and 249.

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