BIAFRA NEWS : Biafran and Ambazonian movements have individually

 

grown increasingly violent in recent months and years. According to John Campbell of the Council on Foreign Relations, “separatist sentiment has been growing” in Nigeria since Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 presidential election. Nigerian authorities have used lethal force against peaceful pro-Biafra protesters, which has left at least 150 civilians dead, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. IPOB was designated a terrorist group in Nigeria in September 2017.

In December 2020, Kanu announced the creation of the Eastern Security Network, a pro-Biafra paramilitary wing, which Nigerian authorities have accused of carrying out a spate of attacks this year. Most recently, in early April, armed gunmen attacked a prison in Imo state, situated in the Biafra region, and aided in the escape of nearly 2,000 prisoners. The next day, armed gunmen attacked a police station in the same area. On April 26, five government security forces were killed in Port Harcourt. In Cameroon, Anglophone separatists have stepped up attacks against government security forces, using improvised explosive devices to target military convoys in at least 30 different attacks in 2021, according to reports from the U.N., the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), and a spokesperson from the Cameroonian military.

Despite the violence, both governments and the international community have failed to address long-standing grievances. “The lesson I take from this is … that domestic grievances, when allowed to fester, can ultimately convulse into broader conflicts and brother crises and armed conflicts, which could have devastating consequences on a transnational basis,” said Christopher Fomunyoh of the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute.