A
photo taken on May 30, 1967 shows Colonel Odumegwu Emeka Ojukwu reading a
speech as he declares the independence of Biafra. Fifty years ago, the Igbo
people of south-East Nigeria seceded, declaring an independent Republic of
Biafra and sparking a brutal civil war that left about one million people dead.
In south-East Nigeria on Tuesday Shops, schools and
businesses were shut. It was 50 years to the day since an independent republic
of Biafra was declared, sparking a Civil war that was brutal.
In Anambra State (Onitsha), the economic hub, the banks of the
River Niger, most markets were closed and the streets were largely empty of
people and traffic. Separatist sentiment persists in the region, which is
dominated by the Igbo people, and the main pro-Biafran independence group has
called on supporters to stay at home.
“No work
today, we are Biafran, we are not Nigerians,” “No violence, it is a
peaceful sit at home. We are protesting peacefully,” said Ebere Ichukwu Eli,
one of the few people to venture outside, where there was a visible security
presence.
A woman who gave her name only as Justine, said:
“The market is closed today. I’m just going home to stay with my children.
“We want our one Biafra. It’s our land. That’s why
we all sit at home today.”
The closures were either to commemorate the
anniversary in support or because of fears of violence, local people said.
Nigerian police last week denounced “planned protests
and order of market closures” and warned it would “deal decisively” with any
breach of the peace or unlawful protest.
Last year, demonstrations marking the declaration of
Biafran independence turned bloody. Amnesty International said the military gunned
down more than 60 people. Since August 2015, more than 150 people have been
killed in pro-Biafra protests, said Amnesty’s Nigeria director Osai Ojigho.
Nigeria’s government denies the claim.
“We urge the Nigerian security agencies to conduct
themselves in a manner that will ensure public order without resorting to
force,” he added.
Amnesty said the security forces had arrested more
than 100 members of pro-Biafran separatist groups in the run-up to Tuesday’s
anniversary. Calls for independence never disappeared even after the 30-month
civil war, which left more than one million dead, most of them Igbos, mainly
from starvation and disease.
Many people accuse the government of failing to
invest in the south-East since the end of the war in 1970, blighting
development. Some see it as a punishment for the conflict. Support for
secession has increased since the arrest in late 2015 of Nnamdi Kanu, the
leader of the pro-independence Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement.
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