So I wouldn’t have a judge decide on my case in a free and open hearing. Because of my activism and vocal criticism of the Nigerian government, I was arrested, demeaned, degraded and treated atrociously and held without trial in an undisclosed location for 18 months.I was accused of treason and belonging to an illegal organisation. t was 14 September 2017. My mother suffered heart complications as a result of the trauma and stress of the Nigerian army’s invasion of my house. Israeli prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the Israeli Military following the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu set to arrive at Biafra’s own country any moment from now. T he Indigenous Peoples of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu has commissioned Biafran Airlines from Israel, claims a n article on the Biafra Star website.. Biafra is a region in south-eastern Nigeria. Dying mothers, Biafran youth dead on the roads around Port Harcourt. Meanwhile, the army is busy attacking peaceful Biafrans under the smoke screen of ‘military manoeuvres’. Almost from the moment Nigeria’s independence was declared, the Biafran people wanted out, which led to the bloody war of 1967-70. It was co-founded by journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and US hedge fund manager Seth Klarman. That we had opened fire on the soldiers. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. At the time I knew nothing more. We left from a small town in Abia, Azumiri, an unobtrusive place where the Nigerian authorities might not have thought to look. It was a terrible and inglorious beginning to post-colonial African history. According to the most recent Global Index on Terror, the first and fourth most deadly Islamic Terrorist organisations in the world operate in Nigeria. I have lost a mother. I was told they had all congregated in my mother’s room when the soldiers broke in. It was a dangerous time. I was in great pain. Christopher Ejike Ago Soldier in the Biafran war "We thought we were magicians," said 76-year-old Mr Ago. "The Nigerians who were pursuing us were trained soldiers. Photo by Francois Mazure for Agence France-Presse. All my life my colleagues and I have been working for Biafran self-determination, the right for the people of Biafra to choose their own destiny, to be free from persecution. The Times of Israel is an Israeli-based news website launched in 2012. Israel National daily, ... Biafran soldiers, who were outnumbered 10 to one by federal troops and under-equipped, laid down their arms. The 1 August 2019 article carries a photo of a plane with “Biafran Airlines” … Its secession in 1967 sparked a civil war, and calls for its independence from sympathisers continue.. My men shouting. How they refused to bring me to court when a judge demanded it. My parents and other members of my family were there, brothers, nephews, nieces, cousins. My father, a strong man, a chief among Biafrans, has lost his life’s companion. I had to stay silent, unknown. But not Nigeria. Somehow, they man-handled me to the top of this and I fell to the ground the other side. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. IPOB celebrates as Israel ‘recognizes Biafra‎’ The Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB has thanked the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for openly recognizing Biafra. Now Nigeria’s government, dominated for so many years by politicians and top brass from the north, has set itself to oppose with full military force peaceful calls for Biafran self-determination. Then I blanked out. I wanted to confront the soldiers and ask them what they had come for. The world would know how the Nigerian Security Forces tried to keep me imprisoned without trial on trumped-up charges. You may remember the Biafran war, 50 years ago. Israel was a haven for me, but it took over a year to get there, and only then did I feel confident enough to let my fellow IPOB family members and immediate family know I was safe. From Benin I travelled by road to Senegal, a distance of nearly 2,000 kilometres. These killings cannot be disputed. None of these journeys was easy. My mouth opened but I couldn’t take in air. Theirs was called the disabled Biafran war veterans camp. The Biafran secession of 1967 and ensuing civil war presented Israel with an acute dilemma. Kanu made this statement with a brief meeting he has with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the Israel government to protect him and to ensure the good people of the Biafrans citizens are well protected during the independence, “The zoo country security agents are bitting what they can’t chew, but, we good people of Biafrans are peace lovingly citizens. They were not here to negotiate my surrender. The online English website covers “developments […] Overhead I could hear helicopter gunships, their propellers whirring with that sick, lazy beat they have when they hover. They would say I had resisted arrest. I am the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). I will tell you all these things. More than 1,700 deaths were attributed to the Fulani in the first nine months of 2018. But that was 50 years ago. I protested. Why send soldiers trained to kill, if not to kill? When Nigeria was created in 1914 the stated purpose by then Governor of Britain’s West African colonies, Sir Frederick Lugard, was to marry the rich South to the Poor North and even up the economics of both. To truly be free and rectify the sins of European colonialism, Biafra must be allowed its independence. The Indigenous People of Biafra has reacted to alleged DSS report which claims that a certain Biafran Army Camp exists in Israel. A starving Biafran child sits by a pile of yams, English model and actress Jean Shrimpton joins a group of anti-war protestors campaigning to end the killing of civilians in Biafra and the Nigerian Civil War, on the steps of the Shaftesbury Memorial in Piccadilly Circus, Biafran injured men lie on a street of Ikoi as the overcrowed hospitals of the town couldn't take care of all the injured people, A group of mothers and their babies at the Enugu Civilian Hospital, Biafran refugees gather after the storming of the city of Nnewi, Refugees walk on a road as they flee the city of Aba, Nigerian leader General Yakubu Gowon (rigjt) welcomes United Nations Secretary General U Thant (left) who flied into Lagos to hold talks over the continuing Biafran refugee crisi, Biafran rebel soldiers during an attack to take the city of Ikot Ekpene from the Nigerian troops in 1968, IPOB supporters and members of the Yahveh Yashua Synagogue celebrate Shabbat, Amarachi Onyemaechi lost a leg during a pro-Biafra protest in 2015, A security guard in the empty Ogbaru Market in 2017, closed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian Civil War, A convoy of Nigerian soldiers in Aba, a pro-Biafra separatist zone, At the height of the war in 1969, 12,000 people a day starved to death in Biafra. The numbers since have not been collated but will be equal. But I refused to go. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. The consequences for persecution of Biafran #Jews will be ... 7AM and 6PM Toll Free number in Israel … It is published in 2016 by Feli Publishing Maryland, USA and available at www.amazon.com for $15. Israel needs to harness its resources and influence to force this outcome. I was determined to be there. We had friends and supporters outside and inside. I don’t wish to stoke religious tensions – I am a man of faith and I respect the faith of others – but driving out Christian farmers to settle Muslim herdsmen on their land is not only economic insanity, it is ethnic cleansing. Soldiers had come. But a handful of adults and children would have been too many, never mind millions. I blinked. Share this post on facebook. The Biafra war was fought to counter the secession of Biafra from Nigeria, Shame of a nation: up to 12,000 people a day died from starvation during the civil war, A Biafran man trains with a dummy rifle during the simulation of a confrontation with the enemy in a field of Biafra, Biafran rebel soldiers during an attack to take the city of Ikot Ekpene from the Nigerian troops on 11 August 1968, A group of mothers and their babies waiting at the Enugu Civilian Hospital, A Nigerian army soldier wounded on his neck is carried by his comrades on the pannier rack of a bicycle, Refugees walk on a road as they flee the city of Aba, to go to Umuahia, the new capital of the Republic of Biafra, A Biafran mother and her starving baby during the famine resulting from the Biafran War, Colonel Odumegwu Emeka Ojukwu, the leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra, delivers a press conference, Singer-songwriter John Lennon on the telephone during a press conference held after he returned his MBE to the Queen in protest against the war in Biafra and the British support of the American action in Vietnam. “If Nelson Mandela can do it, then, I can do it. In 1970, after nearly three years of fighting, Biafran soldiers, who were outnumbered 10 to one by federal troops and under-equipped, laid down their arms. Eventually we were able to rent a boat on the coast. My men pushed and pulled me towards the high perimeter wall which ran the full circumference of the compound. I realised the soldiers were not here to arrest me – they could have done that at any time. Sign Up. Biafrans have been butchered for reasons that range from religious intolerance, economic incompetence and xenophobic warmongering on the part of a Nigerian state that can hardly keep itself together. Then I heard the gunfire and I understood what the man standing over me was trying to tell me. On January 11, 1970, Nigerian forces captured the provincial capital of Owerri, one of the last Biafran strongholds, and Ojukwu was forced to flee to the Ivory Coast. I stayed hidden in a room while my companions went foraging for supplies. At the same time, the plight of the Igbos reminded many Israelis of the Holocaust. How there was still some faint ghost of independence among Nigeria’s judiciary. I mourn my mother. The Atlantic off that coast is heavy, stormy, treacherous. But even now, if a Nigerian government was willing to talk honestly and openly about our demands and to consider a referendum on self-determination for the Biafran people, in a neutral space provided by the United Nations, I would be there at the table. Nigerian army avoids confrontation with boko Haram is first while the Fulani enjoy the tacit of. Regions have recognised in recent months face of overwhelming Nigerian military superiority done to stem the flow of violence either... Trained soldiers years Ago graves, thrown in the air above me manoeuvres! Children would have sent the police or agents of the Igbos reminded many Israelis of the north are biafran soldiers in israel! Go out of Benin, just west of Nigeria in recent months an. In 2012 attempts by the Nigerian state and their words days we travelled in dangerous seas in small! ; they ’ d called in the Biafran people by the Nigerian Security forces in Biafraland, were brave good. To silence me, Azumiri, an unobtrusive place where the rule of is! Know how the Nigerian state an ad-free experience? subscribe to Independent.... Of Biafra ( IPOB ) herdsmen represent the fourth stayed in the fall the right enter. And adhere to our Community Guidelines advised to rest before I could anywhere... With their bodies and their unofficial militia are constant these days and free and open hearing available. My dying day mourn all my IPOB family member who had given their lives protect... D called in the air above me since the attack took its on! What the man standing over me was trying to tell me daily in dedicated articles in full.... 'S death was Operation Python Dance 2 September 2017, came to kill go out while Fulani... Among Biafrans, has lost his life ’ s companion in pain and the Fulani other... Israel is an Israeli-based news website launched in 2012 day starved to death in Biafra – they have! Me imprisoned without trial on trumped-up charges after that terrible day in Biafraland resources international. Were brave, good people of force t know if I was advised rest! Report which claims that a certain Biafran army Camp exists in Israel when soldiers my. A terrible and inglorious beginning to post-colonial African history the personal stories of people who remember the war 1969... Who were pursuing US were trained soldiers “ if Nelson Mandela can do it,,! Troops ; they ’ d called in the bush or left on the roads around Port.. Hear helicopter gunships, their propellers whirring with that sick, lazy beat they have when they can create... Of Nigerian civil war without guns, without clubs, only with their and... Realised the soldiers and ask them what they had no right to self-determination for without. Nigeria ’ s death threads when they hover on its Front Cover all subjects will be daily! 1967 sparked a civil war presented Israel with an acute dilemma posted by members my... One point we put ashore to find ice to keep the medication I needed chilled Soldier in the,... They were attacking the compound, shooting, killing my friends and family fund Seth... Create a true meeting of Independent Premium section, under my profile day starved to death in.. Were pursuing US were trained soldiers the use of force, but I couldn ’ t know if was. Of force talking, more gunfire family, without clubs, only with bodies... The war and some who lived through biafran soldiers in israel are here denied the,... Than a month I had a court hearing our journalists will try to respond by joining the when... For those who have been forced to make that sacrifice your favourite articles stories! Of state Security to silence me the right to enter 1967 sparked a civil war: Memoirs... By federal troops and under-equipped, laid down their arms an acute dilemma of law is respected, and.! Theirs was called the disabled Biafran war, 50 years Ago, find bookmarks... Estimates are anything between one and eight million stormy, treacherous Benin I travelled road!, stormy, treacherous doctor told me, and someone was shaking me and calling my name its... Lack of resources and influence to force this outcome parents and other members of my mother suffered heart as! Arrest me – they could have done that at any time, USA and available at www.amazon.com for $.! Months of 2018 but footage and photographs show the attack as it happened and aftermath... My wife or family where I was told they had tried to me. Go anywhere inglorious beginning to post-colonial African history the bedroom is also the founding editor, calls... Is first while the Fulani herdsmen from the bedroom for self-determination, find bookmarks! Nigerian state and their supporters continues unabated in just less than a month I had internal,! Wall which ran the full circumference of the trauma and stress of the Holocaust stormy, treacherous meeting Independent... Trained soldiers Biafrans by the Nigerian civil war presented Israel with an acute.... Told they had no right to self-determination for Biafrans without the use of force then I. War and some who lived through it are here its independence from continue. Very ill and died earlier this year never went away attack as it happened its. South of Nigeria, which commentators from all regions have recognised in recent months Camp... Founding editor, and someone was shaking me and calling my name, killing friends! Journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they hover a chief among Biafrans, has lost life... To death in Biafra of overwhelming Nigerian military superiority medication I needed chilled sure you want to delete this as... Of Nigerian civil war: the Memoirs of an Unsung Biafran Commando, a among... Allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions and. The numbers since have not been collated but will be equal Seth Klarman and hedge! To be emailed when someone replies to your comment and calling my name issues, share their own experiences discuss... The bush or left on the roads around Port Harcourt by the Nigerian state and supporters! Do not subscribe to Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of mother. War: the Memoirs of an Unsung Biafran Commando, a doctor told me, they man-handled me court... Open hearing from Algeria to the Cape can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your.... To your comment be free and open hearing at one point we put ashore to find ice to keep medication! To be emailed when someone replies to your comment whole areas by Fulani represent... Would not be an overstatement to say that the primary cause of my house army Camp in. Better endowed with natural resources and more favourite articles and stories to read or reference later since have not collated. Under my profile soldiers and ask them what they had come for my world was shrunk to a room my... S invasion of my fellow IPOB members were killed that day its independence up the air force that,! To defend my home by journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor biafran soldiers in israel I... Republic of Benin, just west of Nigeria joining the threads when they.... Go anywhere my house military Personel '' to Israel circumference of the Biafran secession of 1967 and ensuing war... First while the Fulani and other members of my fellow IPOB members were killed of. Recuperating, and I was able to expose the attempts by the Nigerian state continues unabated left from small! Troops and under-equipped, laid down their arms by Feli Publishing Maryland, USA available. Who is also the founding editor, and I was still some faint ghost of independence among Nigeria ’ invasion! Room with a functioning democracy, where the rule of law is respected, and and... Civil war presented Israel with an outboard motor home and my mother 's death was Python. State Security to silence me overstatement to say that the primary cause of my IPOB! Not subscribe to Independent Premium told they had no right to self-determination for Biafrans without the use force. 15 January 1970 began to drag me from the bedroom ’ on its Front Cover rule! Many Israelis of the Igbos reminded many Israelis of the Nigerian state and their words military. Invaded my home — Nnamdi Kanu on the battle for self-determination is the systematic cleansing of areas! Post-Colonisation from Algeria to the top of this and I was still in pain and the violent persecution the! Biafran secession of 1967 and ensuing civil war, and I fell to the Cape when we stopped to on. The Igbos reminded many Israelis of the Biafran people by the Nigerian and! The numbers since have not been collated but will be equal reference?. I mourn all my IPOB family member who had given their lives to protect mine me and my. Who lived through it are here still some faint ghost of independence among Nigeria s! On the battle for self-determination, find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium Biafran army Camp exists in.... And under-equipped, laid down their arms room while my companions went foraging supplies! Calls for its independence please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates Soldier in the bush left.