Skip to main content

1967 Biafra’s Declaration of Independence

 Republic of Biafra (Nigeria)

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

Declaration of Biafra

Fellow countrymen and women, you, the people of Eastern Nigeria:

Conscious of the supreme authority of Almighty God over all mankind, of your duty to yourselves and posterity;

Aware that you can no longer be protected in your lives and in your property by any Government based outside Eastern Nigeria;

Believing that you are born free and have certain inalienable rights which can best be preserved by yourselves;

Unwilling to be unfree partners in any association of a political or economical nature;

Rejecting the authority of any person or persons other than the Military Government of Eastern Nigeria to make any imposition of whatever kind or nature upon you;

Determined to dissolve all political and other ties between you and the former Federal Republic of Nigeria;

Prepared to enter into such association, treaty or alliance with any sovereign state within the former Federal Republic of Nigeria and elsewhere on such terms and conditions as best to subserve your common good;

Affirming your trust and confidence in me;

Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent Republic,

Now, therefore, I, Lieutenant-Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles, recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters shall henceforth be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of “The Republic of Biafra”. And I do declare that-

i. all political ties between us and the Federal Republic of Nigeria are hereby totally dissolved;

ii. all subsisting contractual obligations entered into by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or by any person, authority or organization or government acting on its behalf, with any person, authority or organization operating, or relating to any matter or thing, within the Republic of Biafra, shall henceforth be deemed to be entered into with the Military Governor of the Republic of Biafra for and on behalf of the Government and people of the republic of
Biafra, and the covenants thereof shall, subject to this Declaration, be performed by the parties according to their tenor;

iii. all subsisting international treaties and obligations made on behalf of eastern Nigeria by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, shall be honored and respected;

iv. Eastern Nigeria’s due share of all subsisting international debits and obligations entered into by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on behalf of the Federation of Nigeria shall be honored and respected;

v. steps will be taken to open discussions of the question of Eastern Nigeria’s due share of the assets of the Federation of Nigeria and personal properties of the citizens of Biafra throughout the Federation of Nigeria;

vi. the rights, privileges, pensions, etc. of all personnel of the Public Services, the Armed Forces and the Police now serving in any capacity within the Republic of Biafra, are hereby guaranteed;

vii. we shall keep the door open for association with, and would welcome, any sovereign unit or units in the former Federation of Nigeria or in any other parts of Africa desirous of association with us for the purposes of running a common services organization and for the establishment of economic ties;

viii. we shall protect the lives and property of all foreigners residing in Biafra; we shall extend the hand of friendship to those nations who respect our sovereignty, and shall repel any interference in our internal affairs;

ix. we shall faithfully adhere to the charter of the Organization of African Unity and of the United Nations Organization;

x. It is our intention to remain a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations in our right as a sovereign, independent nation.

Long live the Republic of Biafra! And may God protect all who live in her!

Sources:
“Ojukwu’s Declaration of Biafra Speech” in Citizens for Nigeria, http://www.citizensfornigeria.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=63 (accessed June 3, 2009).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

https://saviournicodemus.blogspot.com

Popular posts from this blog

Nnamdi Kanu Sends Important Message To IPOB Members From Detention

    The detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has sent an important message to his followers over the Biafra movement. The embattled separatist according to one of his brothers, Prince Kanu Meme, has asked his disciples to trust and comply with directives from the Directorate of State (DOS). Boasting his belief in the separatist movement’s administrative structure, Kanu said “I’m DOS and DOS is me”.  Naija News understands that the DOS, headed by diaspora-based Chika Edoziem has been contending with authority issues since Kanu’s arrest in Kenya in June 2021. It has been observed that IPOB is in disintegration following Nnamdi Kanu’s rearrest and detention. The present situation of the Biafran movement can be likened to that of sheep without a shepherd. However, Kanu in a conversation with his sib...
Post a Comment
Read more

IPOB: The Nigerian Civil War, commonly known as the Biafran War

  THE HISTORY OF BIAFRA AND NIGERIA WAR  Israel, Nigeria and the Biafra civil war    The Nigerian Civil War , commonly known as the Biafran War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), was a war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra. Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated federal government. The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria. Control over the lucrative oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role. Within a year, the Federal Government troops surrounded Biafra, capturing coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt. The blockade imp...
Post a Comment
Read more

Judge transfers Nnamdi Kanu’s motion to CJ for reassignment

Judge transfers Nnamdi Kanu’s motion to CJ   on   September 15, 2025 By   Matthew Atungwu   Justice   Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, sent back to the Chief Judge, CJ, a motion filed by Nnamdi Kanu,  leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, for reassignment.      Make money online with cheelee Kanu, in the motion ex-parte, is seeking an order of the court transferring him to Abuja National Hospital for urgent medical attention. Justice Liman, in a short ruling, made the order transferring the case file back to the CJ, following an application by Kanu’s counsel, Uchenna Njoku, SAN, considering the fact that the annual vacation of the court would be ending The Department of State Services (DSS) lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, did not oppose Uchenna’s application. Earlier, upon resumed hearing in the case, the judge hinted that there was no time anymore for the vacation court to decide Ka...
Post a Comment
Read more