12 Facts About Biafra

1.

Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970.

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2.

Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer C Odumegwu Ojukwu under his leadership as the governor of the then Eastern region of Nigeria, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 massacres of Igbo people and other Eastern ethnic groups living in northern Nigeria.

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3.

Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia.

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4.

Biafra received aid from non-state actors, including Joint Church Aid, foreign mercenaries, Holy Ghost Fathers of Ireland, and under their direction Caritas Internationalis, and US Catholic Relief Services.

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5.

Federal projects in Biafra were greatly reduced compared to other parts of Nigeria.

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6.

Four days later, Ojukwu unilaterally declared the independence of the Republic of Biafra, citing the Igbos killed in the post-coup violence as reasons for the declaration of independence.

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7.

Republic of Biafra comprised over 29,848 square miles of land, with terrestrial borders shared with Nigeria to the north and west, and with Cameroon to the east.

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8.

Territory of the Republic of Biafra is covered nowadays by the reorganised Nigerian states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia.

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9.

Languages of Biafra were Igbo, Anaang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoni, and Ijaw, among others.

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10.

Republic of Biafra was a unitary republic administered under emergency measures.

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11.

Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success that their air force did.

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12.

Biafra has since been released and has been rearrested and released more than five times.

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