FRAUD ALERT! FRAUD ALERT!! BEWARE OF OHANAEZE FRAUDSTERS

FRAUD ALERT! FRAUD ALERT!! BEWARE OF OHANAEZE FRAUDSTERS

Nnachi-Enwo-Igariwey

Ohanaeze ndi Igbo is a group of fraudsters; the earlier President Muhammadu Buhari understands this, the better for him. The chairman of this dubious Ohanaeze ndi Igbo Nnachi-Enwo-Igariwey, had told newsmen on Sunday 28th Feb.2016, published on Dailypost on 29th Feb.2016, that his organization has no other option than to support the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, in the interest of ndigbo. This is myopic. 
The question is, why didn’t Ohanaeze support President Muhammadu Buhari ab-initio? President Muhammadu Buhari has been in office for approximately ten months, and it’s only now that it downed on Ohanaeze that they ''do not have any other option than to support him'', can’t you see that these men are up to something? And President Buhari must watch them closely.
These Ohanaeze gray haired fraud stars claim that they represent Biafrans, but their presence has never been felt in our land. These men have never influenced Nigerian government in our favor since they came together to answer "Ohaneze Ndi Igbo"; instead they have given themselves up to be used by Nigerian government against the welfare of Biafrans, and the struggle for our freedom which has cost us millions of lives of our old and young. They have sold their birth right and betrayed us to the Hausa Fulanis. 

They hijacked our identity, and spewed rubbish to the Americans who were sent to monitor our agitation for Biafra restoration. They told them we do not need Biafra. These men are evil.
Ohanaeze ndigbo has jettisoned Biafra by saying that radio Biafra preaches hate when in the actual fact, its the Hausas and Yorubas that have been perpetrated hatred towards the Ibos, right from the 1960s by the Saduana of Sokoto and Awolowo. And I ask; where were they when Buhari said that he will kill all the Igbos again and again to keep Nigeria as one? Where were Ohanaeze ndigbo when Fashola deported our people from Lagos state? These betrayers should tell us how they represented us when our shops were demolished without notice in Ladipo, Oshodi and other markets in Lagos. What was the reaction of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo when the Oba of Lagos said that he will drown the Igbos into the Lagoon if they fail to vote for his brother Ambode? What has these so called apex Igbo socio-cultural group done to stop the incessant killings of the Igbos in the northern Nigeria?  What have the Ohanaeze done since Muhammadu Buhari and his murderous agents started killing unarmed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who were protesting peacefully? Hausa Fulani and Yoruba oligarchy has been exhibiting unequal hatred on us, but this cheap Ohanaeze has been blindfolded with the peanut they receive from the hausas .
Time has gone when Ohanaeze will do a media display to cover their evil deeds and we keep quiet. We know better now that Ohanaeze ndigbo under the chairmanship of Chris Elumemelu stands for betrayal, sabotage and defrauding not just the Igbo Biafrans and Nigerian government but also Biafrans at large. We all know that the true reason why they are turning to President Mohammadu Buhari is because; the evil they have committed against the Igbo Biafrans and the entire Biafran Nation is coming after them. Ohanaeze has forgotten in a hurry that they have also defrauded President Muhammadu Buhari and his government by collecting allocations as representatives of the Igbo people in name of one Nigeria, when they were not actually sent by the Igbo communities to represent them. 
Maybe General Mohammadu Buhari do not know this. Now let this be a disclaimer to the office of the president and that the group called "OHANEZE NDI IGBO" is a fraud. They do not have the mandate of the Igbo speaking Biafrans and Biafrans at large. Any contract or discussion of any type held with this group is not in the interest of Igbos or Biafrans. They do not represent Biafrans or the Igbo speaking people of Biafra. They are impostors and should be arrested for posing as the mouth piece of the Igbo people when in reality, they are just representing their personal interest. President Mohammadu Buhari should be made to understand that these fraudsters called Ohaneze Ndi Igbo he is dealing with CAN NEVER KEEP THE BIAFRANS IN ONE NIGERIA.
Self-determination is a universal law and Nigerian government knows it, and upon this law Biafra must be restored. Neither Mohammadu Buhari nor the Ohanaeze fraudsters can stop it.

Written By Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Editor  Ikechukwu Nwaorisa
By  BIAFRA WRITERS

The Ghost of Biafra -questia.com

The ghost of Biafran secession is again stalking Nigeria and Nigerians are once more beginning to relive, reflect on and even debate the events that led to the unforgettable secessionist conflict that ostensibly ended in January 1970.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the country's first coup. Led by an Igbo, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, the 15 January 1966 anti-corruption coup provided the trigger for the Biafran civil war that engulfed Nigeria later.
With the October 2015 arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the Biafran activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, debate on what next in Nigeria is in sharp focus as people begin to take in once again the brutality and numerous reasons behind the first failed January coup which include: the mistakes of the successor military regime of General Aguiyi-Ironsi's as he sought to abandon the weak federal system in favour of a strong unitary government; the cruel violence of the second revenge coup by Northern officers in May 1966; the attacks and murders of Igbo civilians which created the grounds for secession by Biafra; the attempts to find a political solution which would hold the country together at the Aburi conference in Ghana and which reached agreement on a loose confederal political system; the subsequent abandonment of the Aburi accords by the Nigerian government; the final descent into civil war and the large-scale humanitarian disasters in the besieged Biafra that followed; and finally the collapse of the rebel state, the terms of the surrender in 1970, and post-war reintegration of the rebel state back into Nigeria.
Reflection on each of these chapters will enable Nigeria to confront important aspects of its past which it has been reluctant to discuss. The peace in 1970, although considered magnanimous at the time, has partially unravelled. Many of the defeated Igbo have long perceived themselves discriminated against and marginalised. …

By Wambu, Onyekachi

Source 

Buhari Should Free Nnamdi Kanu - Igbo Information Network - elombah

1. The Igbo Information Network is disturbed by the continuous incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of Radio Biafra.

2. His continuous incarceration is not in the best interest of Nigeria.

3. We also condemn the use of force and life bullet on the pro-Biafran agitators. The recent killings at Aba and Onitsha are highly condemnable. The soldiers that carried out the killings must be fished out and prosecuted.

4. We call however for a Referendum in Igboland to feel the gauge of the people. It is the most civilized way of addressing the issue in modern times. Nnamdi Kanu and the issues he has been canvassing for can only be addressed politically and not through legal means.

5. The federal government must not allow this issue to escalate.

Signed:

Chuks Ibegbu, Chancellor

08035410176

Source 

OHANEZE NDIGBO: A GROUP FOR IGBO INTEREST OR A TOOL FOR IGBO DESTABILISATION?

BIAFRA:
OHANEZE NDIGBO: A GROUP FOR IGBO INTEREST  OR A TOOL FOR IGBO DESTABILISATION?

In Nigeria today, it is obvious to everyone that Ndigbo who used to be the leading figures in all facets of national life, have been conquered. Ndigbo should realise that they have no one to speak for their interest and the sooner they realise this, the better their situation would become. When it comes to national issues, various peoples and tribes are expected to have influential political groups that should be able to command strong political influences in order to occasionally effect beneficial social-political changes as it concerns said people. A group through which the people should be able to communicate their common political interests. For the Northern people, there is the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) among other groups with strong political influence within the Nigerian circle. ACF among other influential northern political groups is usually known for its loudness when it has to do with issues that affect the generality of the Northern people. Within the West, there is the Oduduwa or Odua People’s Congress (OPC) among other political groups that often stands firm on issues concerning the Yoruba people. For Ndigbo, there is absolutely no such group, Ndigbo have become so devastated, politically and otherwise, that they have neither a strong political influence nor a strong group that commands such political influence on their behalf. Incidentally, many think that Ohaneze Ndigbo is a group that fosters the interest and the unity of Ndigbo, but in the real sense, it is regrettably an effective tool for the continued devastation and conquest of Ndigbo. Ohaneze Ndigbo, since its inception, has been regarded as a toothless bulldog and has proven to be so, times without number. The Igbo people as a people vastly blessed, needs to wake up from their destructive slumber and have a rethink as quickly as possible, they must begin to read the hand writing on the wall and to effectively decipher the message, they must realise that it is time to take bold positive steps if they must make progress as a people. First of such steps would be the complete ban and ostracism of the current Ohaneze Ndigbo by the generality of the Igbo people, as they have been planted as subterfuges for the total destruction of the Igbo race.
Ohaneze Ndigbo is a group instituted by the Hausa-Fulani cum Yoruba interest against the general interest of Ndigbo as they do not speak nor act for the interest of Ndigbo and this is evident in their modus operandi. Ohaneze literary implies “The people and the kings” hence, “the people and the kings of the Igbo people (Ohaneze Ndigbo), but unfortunately, there was never a record of Igbo groups that came together to institute the Ohaneze Ndigbo, this is verifiable. They have been instituted by the Hausa Fulanis to answer to the northern oligarchy as they are made up of a bunch of hungry men who are poor in heart and men who have no dignity nor courage, men whose sole interest is on financial and material gains that may come forth from their northern oligarchical masters. They are made up of men who have completely lost the true value and essence of the Igbo tradition -“Eziokwu bu Ndu” and hence do not speak for the interest of Ndigbo. They do not speak nor act against the injustices meted out against Ndigbo in particular and Biafrans in general because they’re courteous as not to offend their northern masters.

Part of Aba and Portharcourt Massacre

Evident to this among other numerous cases, is that a few weeks ago, on the 9th of February 2016, a group of Biafrans gathered for prayer sessions in Aba for the restoration of Biafra but were shot dead in cold blood by the murderous Nigerian army, and no single press release nor public statement was heard from the so-called Ohaneze Ndigbo to condemn the barbaric acts of the terrorist-armed forces of Nigeria. There have been other similar cases in the past where this socio-political group would completely look away even as evil is being perpetrated against its people and would pretend it never happened. Ohaneze Ndigbo is being used as a stooge by the northern oligarchy to undermine the common interest of the Igbo people in particular and Biafrans in general. There have also been numerous reported cases, where they received sums of money from the government to ignore and not speak against the injustices being meted out against Biafrans and they have always lived up to this creed. The sooner the Igbos and Biafrans realise this and banish these men, the better it would become for all Biafrans.
The struggle for the restoration of the sovereign state of Biafra is on-going and only a dubious and corrupt Igbo man without an iota of integrity nor dignity would make utterances against the struggle for the total liberation of the Igboman and Biafrans in general. The Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) is championing the course for the total restoration of the sovereign state of Biafra and Biafra is made up of other tribes order than just the Igbos, therefore a group of few irresponsible and hungry Igbo men who call themselves Ohaneze Ndigbo cannot and should not be allowed to determine the fate of the entire Biafran people. If IPOB is relentlessly behind the quest for the total restoration of the sovereign state of Biafra, then it must have designated officials and hierarchy, therefore any negotiations involving Biafrans should be made through the appropriate channels and with the right IPOB officials. It is completely malevolent and unacceptable to learn that a few dubious elements from Ohaneze claim that they are speaking on behalf of IPOB officials. This is pure deception, it is designed to destabilise the genuine struggle for the total restoration of Biafra and must be disregarded and thrown to the garbage bin. These few selfish individuals also went as far as alleging to be negotiating for the release of Nnamdi Kanu whom they falsely claimed has agreed to quit the Biafran quest, and insinuated that radio Biafra was spreading lies and hate speeches, this is totally unbelievable and no one in their right senses should regard a word from these irresponsible men as they have been mandated and paid to destabilise the genuine Biafran quest.
People need to realise that these group of red-cap imposters in conjunction with their Nigerian cohorts have a mandate to tarnish the image of the IPOB and therefore should be completely disregarded. If an individual says, “I want a different identity separate from another”, that cannot amount to a hate speech. Ohaneze Ndigbo is therefore challenged to identify the record of hate speech which radio Biafra has ever made. Radio Biafra cannot be said to be spreading hate speeches because it is out to expose the atrocities inherent in Nigeria, rather, should be encouraged by all men of good will so as to stamp out the impunity and evil that is Nigeria and to wholesomely restore the sovereign state of Biafra. I leave you with the saying “The only thing required for evil to prevail over good is for good men to remain silent even as evil is being perpetrated”.


Written By KeneChukwu HalleluYah Okekenta
Edited  By  Ikechukwu nwaorisa
By  BIAFRA WRITERS

OHANAEZE NDI IGBO...THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO BIAFRA RESTORATION,.. Must Be Removed!!!

OHANAEZE NDI IGBO...THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO BIAFRA RESTORATION... Must Be Removed!!!

These monsters...OHANAEZE NDI OSHI NA AMA, from every indication have shown us that they have sold out their consciences for a paltry sum, in exchange for the freedom their people cherish so dearly to regain. They hijacked our identity, and spewed rubbish to the Americans who were sent to monitor our agitation for Biafra restoration. They told them we do not need Biafra, and we ask who made the fools our mouth piece?
Can these mad old fools called Ohanaeze tell us what they have achieved as a group? Can they tell us what hate speech they hear on Radio Biafra, and also tell us why they failed to condemn Buhari when he emphatically said that he will kill all Igbos again and again to keep the zoo called niGERia one which ofcourse he is currently doing? What did these fools do when the Yoruba Oba of Lagos threatened to drown the Ibos if Ambode his candidate loses the governorship bid in Lagos. Did the Ohaneze condemn such hate speach? NO, but when Radio Biafra make a statement of fact about the Igbo marginalization, the old decrepit fools will be alive to condemn it as hate speach. 
Can these bunch of vagabonds called Ohanaeze ndi Igbo tell us why they kept quiet when shops belonging to Biafrans were demoslished in Ladipo, Oshodi, and other parts if Lagos?
Can these bunch of fools called Ohanaeze 'ndi furu efu' tell us what action they took, when Fashola deported our people en masse overnight, using trailers used in conveying Cows and animals to bridge head Onitsha?

Can these Hausa slaves called Ohananaeze tell us why they conspired to collect money from the Federal government of Nigeria in other to consent to the burial of our people in mass grave, in Nothern Nigeria, when Boko haram killed thousands of our people 2yrs ago, when they know its a taboo to bury our sons or daughters in foreign land?

Can these bunch of imbecilic fools called Ohanaeze 'ndi nzuzu' tell us why they kept quiet, while the killing of Biafrans in and around Biafra land continued unabated? These people called Ohanaeze 'ndi anumanu' should tell us why they have chosen to become like the Biblical Esau, who sold his birthright over a plate of porridge? Why? Why? Why is Ohanaeze corroborating the zoo 'hate theory' by saying that Nnamdi Kanu preaches hate, but has failed to see that the paedophile, the hausa/fulani in conjunction with their yoruba conspirators have always been in the fore front of exhibiting HATRED against Biafrans? Creating permanent enmity between us and our brothers by fragmenting our people and joining them with other states, and peddling crippling  lies amongst our people that the Ibos hates the Rivers or other neighbouring states and that the Ibos are their problem....which is more hateful? It took the effort and  ingenuity of Nnamdi Kanu to break that jinx and set our people free from that mental slavery which the Hausas and Yorubas put them.
Biafrans must know that these evil men are the ones keeping us in bondage, not the paedophile and neither is it the British. Ohanaeze is the stooge and weapon which is currently been used to keep us as slaves in perpetuity. Ohanaeze must understand that we will never forgive anybody that speak ill or sabotage Biafra restoration project. Never!!!! The Ifeajuna of 1967-70 will never be allowed to resurface again in this struggle. A word is enough for the wise.
Click here for the hate theory story


Written  By Nwosu Chinwendu Silvia
Edited  By  Ikechukwu Nwaorisa
By  BIAFRA WRITERS

Biafra Protest in Sweden on the 29th February

Biafran
in Sweden protested in front of the British Embassy

Escalating violence in Niger Delta and Biafra regions represents a major security challenge for the oil-rich south of Nigeria -European governments

Since the beginning of the year the steady raise of violence in Nigeria’s southeast demonstrate a new alarming trend for regional security since Goodluck Jonathan, the first president from the Niger Delta regions, lost re-election in March 2015. The latest incidents, in the context of dramatically decreasing oil prices and of the persistent Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast, represent a worrying situation for the Nigerian government. The possible consolidation of forces of pro-Biafra and Niger Delta rebels along with campus cult groups may seriously challenge security and stability of the region in the nearest future.
                                                                                                              
The months following Buhari’s election as President on March 28, 2015, have been first marked by 2 escalating threats: the reactivation of both pro-Biafra and Niger Delta activists movements. Tensions mounted further following the first governmental appointments, made by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s after coming to power because they were largely considered by population of southern regions as ‘favoritisation of the North’. It should be recalled that Buharai is a Muslim from Katsina State while Nigeria’s previous president, Goodluck Jonathan, is a Christian from the Ijaw ethnic group and the first president coming from the Niger Delta regions which strongly supported him.

First, the past months have been marked by mass protests by Igbos (Christian tribe representing most of south-eastern population) in Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bayesla, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Rivers and Imo states, resuming old demands for regional autonomy or “self-determination”. Most ethnic Igbos believed that since the end of the civil war in 1970 and prior to the arrival of Goodluck Jonathan at the helm in 2010, Nigeria’s central government deliberately pursued a discriminatory policy aimed at marginalizing them. The arrival of another Muslim president, Buhari, to the presidency, triggered fears that Igbo communities would be as marginalized as they were before Jonathan’s election.

Protests that started in a relatively peaceful way, dramatically radicalized following the arrest and prosecution on October 19 of Nnamdi Kanu, the director of Radio Biafra, an unlicensed radio the Nigerian government accuses of spreading hate and violence. Kanu is actually facing trial for sedition and treason and strongly endorsed violence as an instrument for resuscitating Biafra. Since his arrest, protesters demanding both his release and an independent Biafra have repeatedly clashed with security forces.

The protests were initially driven by members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the 2 main secessionist movements which fight for independence of Biafra territory from Nigeria. For over a decade, agitation for Biafra’s restoration was mainly championed by the MASSOB, formed in 1999 and led by Ralph Uwazuruike. The group pledged to be non-violent but, over time, its members were numerous times involved in clashes with police, resulting in several killed.

The movement for the independency of Biafra state rooted in the 1967-70 civil war that followed a secessionist attempt by the Igbo people to form the Biafra State. Growing fears of marginalization and exclusion from oil benefits under a predominant Muslim government further fueled tensions in the area. Biafra was finally reintegrated into Nigeria after losing a war in which around one million people died, mostly of starvation and disease due to a federal government blockade. Now, Igbos say they have been marginalized and excluded from key government posts and denied vital funding for infrastructure development, schools and hospitals.

Radio Biafra itself plays an important role in the conflict, allegedly broadcasting highly provocative messages and urging violent struggle to achieve independence of Biafra. Following Buhari’s victory in the March 2015 election, Kanu’s Radio Biafra intensified its propaganda against the new president, his government and northern Nigerians. Kanu has strongly endorsed violence as an instrument for resuscitating Biafra and IPOB is the main group coordinating the recent “free Kanu and restore Biafra” agitation. MASSOB spokesman Uchenna Madu said Kanu’s arrest and detention assisted “immensely in reviving the consciousness and sympathy for Biafra’s actualization”.

Secondly, since Goodluck Jonathan, the first president from the Niger Delta, lost re-election in March 2015, former Niger Delta activists have resumed their grievances for greater resource control and self-determination, while some former rebel leaders started to threaten to resume fighting (“return to the creeks”). The fall of state oil revenues risk to fuel further these moods, contributing to the resurrection of armed insurgency in the region.

Since the end of December 2015, Niger Delta activists and former members of the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) launched a series of attacks including bombings, sabotages and raids on flow stations, pipelines and oil and gas facilities in general. The attacks targeted indiscriminately the sites owned by the the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or foreign companies such as Eni and Shell.

To recall, between 2003 and 2009 MEND, comprised of several armed groups, was responsible for most of acts of insurgency in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region including attacks against oil facilities and kidnappings. At the height of the militancy, rebels reduced Nigeria’s oil production by a quarter.

These recent bombings and attacks on oil and gas facilities in the southern Niger Delta coincided with the issue by a Lagos court of an arrest warrant on January 14 for Government Ekpemupolo, more commonly known as Tompolo, a prominent figurehead of the MEND that besieged the oil-producing country in the mid-2000s, on theft and money laundering charges.

Tempolo’s case is being pursued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following President Muhammadu Buhari’s wish to fight against corruption due to the amnesty program. Tempolo reportedly received contracts to provide services to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) but the agreements were allegedly used as a front to steal money. In any case, the amnesty has been an economic boon for high-profile activists like Tompolo. Meanwhile Tompolo distanced himself from the attacks, adding that he would not have been able to get away with such an attack while under close government scrutiny. He nevertheless warned President Buhari, saying that “he should allow the people of the Niger Delta region to enjoy peace, otherwise he would neither enjoy peace.”

The risks of the resurrection of the armed insurgency in the southern oil-rich regions of Nigeria is not only triggered by the possible cancellation of the governmental amnesty by also by the end of rehabilitation projects for former rebels and the transfer of security contracts from local community groups to security troops.

The amnesty program, whose implementation since 2009, coupled with concessions to former rebel leaders, brought a semblance of peace and enabled oil production to regain pre-insurgency levels. However, the government has largely failed to carry out other recommendations that addressed the insurgency’s root causes, including its marginalisation in national politics, inadequate infrastructure, environmental pollution and local demands for a bigger share of oil revenues, widespread poverty and youth unemployment. These conditions that sparked the insurgency still exist today and could easily trigger a new phase of violent conflict.
The amnesty offer and retraining and the opportunities of reintegration encouraged the insurgent groups to disarm; over 30,000 purported members signed up between October 2009 and May 2011. Since then, the amnesty office has worked to reintegrate them into society, primarily by placing (and sponsoring) them in vocational and higher education courses in Nigeria and abroad. Judged by its primary objective of disarming the insurgents and stabilising the security situation in the Delta, the program has achieved significant results. Kidnappings and armed attacks against expatriates have fallen and improved security has enabled petroleum production and exports to increase from about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in mid-2009 to between 2.2 and 2.4 million bpd since 2011.

At its peak in 2009, the insurgency in the Niger Delta was claiming an estimated 1,000 lives a year, had cut Nigeria’s oil output by over 50 per cent and was costing the government close to four billion naira (nearly $19 million) per day in counterinsurgency operations. A resurgence of violence and increased oil-related crimes in the Delta region could seriously undermine national security and economic stability, which is already weighed down by the Boko Haram insurgency and dwindling oil revenues. Tompolo’s acceptance of a presidential amnesty program offered by the Nigerian government in 2009 was described by officials as “highly significant, some would say decisive, in ending the violence at the time.” Adding that the former rebel is still actively supported by his followers in the Niger Delta region.

Taking into account these considerations and the increasingly risky environment in the Niger Delta region, President Buhari finally decided on February 15, 2016, to extend the amnesty program for 2 years, until December 2017.
                                                                                                    
Despite undoubtful positive effect of this extension of the amnesty program on the security situation in the region,  increasing grievances of local population , that led to the escalation of violence in the past (youth unemployment, environmental pollution, widespread poverty and poor infrastructure) remain unresolved. The threat of exclusion of local communities from oil revenues, local political tensions and the perception by locals of the new policy of the President Buhari as a "plot by a Muslim President to rob the largely Christian south of oil revenues" could trigger new violent unrest.

Possible consolidation of efforts between pro-Biafra and Niger Delta activists, backed by campus cult groups, in such context cannot be excluded. This possibility was demonstrated by the hijacking on January 28 of the Greek-owned and Liberia-flagged vessel reportedly carried out by Niger Delta activists allegedly supporting pro-Biafra movements, raises fears of a potential alliance between the groups. Even if the incident was followed by a series of conflicting reports and speculations, it can be considered as a signal of potential growing ties and alliances between Niger Delta and pro-Biafra groups, especially since a 31 day deadline over Kanu’s release was reportedly issued by Niger Delta activists.

If confirmed, the attack would be the first of the kind linked to the southern insurgency movement over the past 8 years. On the one hand, it should be recalled that these allegations must be taken with caution since pro-Biafra activists mainly come from the Igbo ethnic group, which constituted the majority of the population of the republic of Biafra when it existed between 1967 and 1970 while rebels who were involved in the Niger Delta insurgency mainly hail from the Ijaw ethnic group. On the other hand, the groups are bounded by a large geographical crossover (between the Niger Delta region and the States included in the former Republic of Biafra), their common opposition to the central Nigerian state, their struggle for the liberation of their leaders and their desire to affirm a local control by the increasing use of violence. Moreover, the regions contains oil fields that supply the three quarters of the government’s revenue and gives  to Igbos confidence in the economic viability of an independent Biafra State.

On February 7, suspected cultists attacked a gas storage facility run by Eni in the Ahoada local government area in Rivers state. It should be mentioned that the alleged perpetrator of the attack, the suspected cult group, the Icelander, has links with former Niger Delta insurgents. The group maintained a low profile for years but reportedly began regrouping after President Buhari came to power. The group demanded the release of Emmanuel Odum, currently interrogated in connection with pipeline vandalism and cult-related activities.

To recall, 'campus cults' student gangs represent a widespread phenomenon in the south of Nigeria. The gangs based on students confraternities, are largely involved in criminal activities and also in the Niger Delta insurgent groups, namely MEND. Most of the campus cults have been accused of kidnapping foreign oil workers for ransom and ties to the rebels of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

While the unification of these groups (cultists, Pro-Biafra and former MEND) remains very hypothetical, their radicalization in the actual context is evident. Nearly 7 years after the amnesty ended a long period of insurgency, the risk of return to armed struggle, empowered by a similarity of interests between the armed groups in the region (geographical proximity, common opposition to Nigeria's central state, their struggle for the liberation of their leaders) should not be underestimated. In such a context, the growing involvement of cultists’ movements in the insurgency can result in an increased number of kidnappings of oil workers, in parallel with continuing attacks on oil and gas infrastructures by former MEND activists.


The Niger Delta and Biafra regions, challenged by youth unemployment, environmental pollution, widespread poverty and poor infrastructure today represents a fertile ground for various insurgent groups. Increasing insecurity in the oil-producing regions hosting most of representations of foreign companies and personnel clearly threatens Nigeria’s economic potential. While the government today apparently has no viable plan for dealing with these uprisings beyond extending the amnesty program and deploying more security personnel, the latest developments can be interpreted as indicators of an emerging insurgency that risk to  deteriorate into a full-scale guerilla war, expanding to the whole region.

by Pierre-Alexis Quenot, Research Intern

Source