Between 1.5 million and 2.1 million were killed, including many who died in the famine following the war. The Biafra civil war, an effort by eastern Ibo people to secede, fails with the surrender of Lt. The eastern region was now flooded with Ibo refugees. Over 30,000, mostly Ibo, were said to have died in the north and west. Armed bands of civilians and militia slaughtered Ibos indiscriminately. The exodus gained greater impetus as hundreds of thousands fled the riot torn north. The anti-Ibo riots led many to believe that the only way they could live securely was to secede and form their own country.Īnti-Ibo riots gained momentum and voracity. The FMG, now under the control of Major General Yakubu Gowon, a middle-belt tribe member and a Christian, restored calm to Nigeria. The military aided some Ibo in their flight but many of those unescorted were massacred. Over 1.3 million Ibo fled the neighboring regions in order to escape persecution as anti-Ibo riots increased. Between June and July there was a mass exodus of Ibo from the north and west. General Ironsi and many others, mostly Ibo, were killed. Ironsi declared all political parties illegal and formed the Federal Military Government (FMG).Ī counter-coup was launched by mostly northern troops. General Johnson Ironsi, an Ibo, consolidated power in the military and used its power to restore order throughout Nigeria. The coup was widely considered an Ibo plot to consolidate power and overthrow the northern dominated government. Prime Minister Balewa along with other northern and western government officials were assassinated during the coup. Federal troops had to intervene to bring calm to the areas affected.Ī military coup d'etat led by lower and middle-ranking officers, some of them Ibo, overthrew the NPC-NCNC dominated government. Ibo attacks on AG followers in the west sparked off the violence.
The Yoruba riot in protest against what they see as forced exclusion of the AG from the Federal government. The Federal Republic of Nigeria was proclaimed and Nnamdi Azikiwe was named President. After independence, the Ibo lost their privileged status, while the Hausa/Fulani gained affluence and controlled the federal government. Prior to independence, the Ibo dominated the political, social, military and business institutions of Nigeria. A referendum adds the territory of Northern Cameroon, called Gongola state, which was administered by Britain as part of Nigeria. A northerner, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was named Prime Minister. This caused further animosities between the northerners and their southern Ibo neighbors.Ī coalition between the Hausa-Fulani supported Northern People's Congress (NPC), the Ibo National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroon (NCNC) blocked the western Yoruba controlled Action Group (AG) party from gaining any significant share of central authority in the December elections. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) was created to introduce the eastern and western regions to a system of greater autonomy. The southern Yoruba did not participate in the fighting.
Ibos were hunted down and attacked in Kano, 245 were injured and more than 52 were killed. The acceptance of these demands signaled the beginning of northern domination of Nigerian national politics.Īnti-Ibo riots broke out in the north in protest of Ibo domination of social, political, business and military institutions. The Emirs threatened to secede from Nigeria if their demands were not met. When oil was discovered in the Ibo dominated eastern region, the Emirs of Zaria and Katsina demanded fifty percent of the seats in the newly formed Central Legislature. They were minor riots in protest of the northern amalgamation with the southern regions. The Ibo and Yoruba regions were affected by this change, causing further animosities between the north, which continued to be ruled indirectly by the British, and the potentially autonomous south. This was regarded as the first step toward autonomy from British rule. The Clifford Constitution stipulated that a Legislative Council administer the Eastern and Western regions. Territories were combined to form Nigeria and administered through four provinces - Northern, Eastern, Western and the colony of Lagos. Britain set up northern and southern protectorates and a colony in Lagos. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Minorities at Risk Project, Chronology for Yoruba in Nigeria, 2004, available at:
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