In Nigeria’s southeast, a separatist uprising is rocking the Igbo-majority region and at the same time putting native Muslims at risk
The Biafra movement, largely driven by loud, breakaway agitators in the diaspora, is notorious for spreading falsehoods as facts
In a quiet neighbourhood in Igbo Eze South local government area (LGA) of Enugu, in Nigeria’s restive southeast, Siraj Ugwu connects with fellow Muslims to exercise their right of freedom of thought, conscience and religion. …CONTINUE READING
core religious teachings.”
Elaborating on the challenge faced in a predominantly Christian Igbo community, Ugwu stated that social exclusion and stereotyping are common.
“Some people automatically assume I’m no longer “Igbo enough” because of my faith,” said Ugwu amid strong concern. “Even attending family functions can be emotionally draining because I often have to defend my identity and beliefs.”
“On my X page, you will see several threats coming from my people; Igbos from the southeast. But in my community, Alor-Agu, we don’t actually have a problem because relatives have diverse religious affiliations.”
Tochukwu added: “Religion is a personal thing. It is even constitutionally guaranteed under Section 38 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution.”
To be safe from unforeseen dangers, threats or risks, Ugwu has become more security-conscious, avoiding public displays of his faith in certain places. He also reports some dangerous threats to law enforcement agents, especially the police.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s the reality for now,” he lamented
Dangerous dimension of Biafra movement
The bloody civil war in Nigeria lasted from 1967 to 1970. Since then, the quest for the attainment of Biafra has been relatively peaceful. But recently, a steady drift towards violence crept into the struggle.
A statement by the Nigerian Army disclosing that troops raided an IPOB camp in Abia state on June 13, 2024, and recovered, among others, an AK-47 rifle, can be seen below:
The violence, allegedly carried out by Biafra rebels with allegiance to the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), has stoked fears. In the Anambra South senatorial district of Anambra state, for instance, insecurity perpetrated by separatist elements forces residents to stay indoors every Monday to protest against perceived marginalisation and demand the release of hugely influential Biafra separatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In what is a bizarre twist, several individuals among those pushing for Biafra, because Nigeria is discriminating against them, are the ones also exhibiting prejudice towards people who pose no harm.
Since 2021, the separatist conflict has claimed at least 1,155 lives, according to a report by Al Jazeera in January 2025.
Journalist Fredrick Nwabufo, who now works with Nigeria’s leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as senior special assistant on public engagement, commented on the brutality often linked to the protracted Biafran campaign.
A past victim of separatists’ threats himself, he described their activities as “murderous”.
In the same vein, Prof. Kperogi pointed out that online hate speech can turn into offline hate crimes, as Biafra secessionists’ threats could constitute a genuine menace.
“The intentional circulation of demonstrably false and malicious information against minorities, in this case Igbo Muslim minorities, is often the precursor to systematic mass murder. As the saying goes, genocide begins with words. When hate speech is repeated multiple times against people who are too few or too symbolically invisible to fight back, it can transform into a manifesto for mass slaughter,” the scholar warned.
Prof. Kperogi is not far from the truth. On November 10, 2021, Ogoegbunam Ifeanyichukwu Aniekwena (also known as Achika General), a youth leader in Ogidi town in Idemili LGA of Anambra state, was gunned down by suspected IPOB separatists after he simply opposed the sit-at-home exercise.
A 2022 BBC investigation blamed his killing on a Facebook Live done by Nneka Igwenagu, a UK-based “media warrior” fighting for the Biafran cause.
In a broadcast from London, she targets a youth group in Anambra, which had been resisting pressure from IPOB for people in the region to shut down businesses and schools in solidarity with Kanu.
Kanu is currently being held by Nigerian authorities and faces terror charges, which he denies.
Speaking in Igbo, the most widely spoken language in south-eastern Nigeria, Ms Igwenagu refers to them as “chickens”, saying: “All of you are not supposed to be alive… A chicken that ate its eggs, don’t you see it is not supposed to live?”
A few weeks after the broadcast, Aniekwena, the leader of the youth group she was referring to, was shot and killed. No one has been charged over his death.
In October 2021, the house of Joe Igbokwe, a prominent chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was razed in his native Nnewi, Anambra state. Igbokwe pinned the blame on IPOB proponents, following several threats he received. Lagos-based Igbokwe had been one of the fiercest critics of Kanu and IPOB’s online activities.
Since the attack, Igbokwe has elected against travelling home over fears for his life.
Aishat Obi, the commissioner representing the Southeast in the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), shared that women were the prime targets due to their Islamic dress and were subject to hostility that stemmed from the civil war. The unsuccessful secessionist rebellion ended in 1970, but some wounds are yet to heal with resentment harboured towards the Muslim Hausa-Fulani community from the north, which dominated the government at the time.
“They see you as a saboteur,” Ms Obi told BBC. “Even inside a vehicle or on a motorcycle, they call you ‘Hausa person’.”
There are cases of attacks on Muslims and mosques in the region.
As pinpointed by Obi, hijab-using Muslim women are top on the list of those exposed to danger.
In May 2022, a heinous assault one would not even wish on one’s worst enemy happened in Anambra when a heavily pregnant Harira Jibril, 32, and her four children aged between 2 and 9 years old were gunned down in cold blood, without any provocation.
Ahmed, the widower, narrated what happened to Daily Trust: “They were coming back home after she visited her sister who was living in the nearby town. She and the four children were all wearing hijabs; that was why the gunmen targeted them.”
