| Asaba massacre | |
|---|---|
  Asaba Asaba massacre (Nigeria) | |
| Location | Asaba, Nigeria |
| Date | 5–7 October 1967 |
| Target | Igbo civilians of Asaba |
Attack type | Mass murder |
| Deaths | At least 1,000. |
| Perpetrators | Nigerian 2nd Division under Murtala Mohammed, Ibrahim Haruna, Ibrahim Taiwo |
The Asaba Massacre occurred in October 1967 in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria during the Nigerian Civil War.
In August 1967, three months into the Biafran War, Biafran troops invaded the Mid-Western Region, to the west of the River Niger. They spread west, taking Benin City and reaching as far as Ore, where they were pushed back by the Nigerian Second Division, under the command of Col. Murtala Muhammed. [1]
The Federal troops gained the upper hand, and forced the Biafrans back to the Niger, where they crossed the bridge back into the Biafran city of Onitsha, which lies directly across from Asaba. The Biafrans blew up the eastern spans of the Onitsha bridge, so that the Federal troops were unable to pursue them. [2]
The Federal troops entered Asaba around October 5, and began ransacking houses and killing civilians, claiming they were Biafran sympathisers. Reports suggest that several hundred innocent males may have been killed individually and in groups at various locations in the town. Leaders summoned the townspeople to assemble on the morning of October 7, hoping to end the violence through a show of support for "One Nigeria." Hundreds of men, women, and children, many wearing the ceremonial akwa ocha (white) attire paraded along the main street, singing, dancing, and chanting "One Nigeria." At a junction, men and teenage boys were separated from women and young children, and gathered in an open square at Ogbe-Osowa village. [3] Federal troops revealed machine guns, and orders were given, reportedly by Second-in-Command, Maj. Ibrahim Taiwo, to open fire. [4] [5] Most of the killing ended by 7 October. [6]
The bodies of some victims were retrieved by family members and buried at home. [7] But most were buried in mass graves, without appropriate ceremony. Many extended families lost dozens of men and boys. Federal troops occupied Asaba for many months, during which time most of the town was destroyed, many women and girls were raped or forcibly "married," and large numbers of citizens fled, often not returning until the war ended in 1970.
No exact death toll for the massacre has ever been calculated. In 1981, the Asaba Development Council assembled a list of 373 dead, but stated that it was incomplete. Anthropologist S. Elizabeth Bird and historian Fraser Ottanelli estimated that between 500 and 800 people were killed. [8] David Scanlon of Quaker Relief Services reported that 759 men and boys were killed, while journalist Colin Legum wrote that 700 died. Eyewitness accounts estimated between 500 and over 1,000 deaths. [9]
I.B.M. Haruna has sometimes been named as the officer who ordered the massacre, following a report of his testimony to the Nigerian Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission, known as the Oputa Panel. [10] This article quoted him as claiming responsibility (as the commanding officer) and having no apology for the atrocity. However, Haruna was not present in Asaba in 1967. He replaced Murtala Muhammed as C.O. of the Second Division in spring 1968.
In October 2017, the Asaba community marked the 50th anniversary of the massacres with a two-day commemoration, during which the new, comprehensive book on the massacre, its causes, consequences, and legacy, was launched: "The Asaba Massacre: Trauma, Memory, and the Nigerian Civil War," by S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli (Cambridge University Press). This book, which draws on interviews with survivors and military and government figures, as well as archival sources, discusses how and why the massacres happened, and the impact of this community trauma, decades after the event.
Murtala Ramat Muhammed ; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general and head of state, who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War and thereafter ruled Nigeria from 29 July 1975 until his assassination on 13 February 1976. This period in Nigerian history, from the Northern counter-coup victory to Murtala's death, is commonly associated with the institutionalization of the military in Nigerian politics.
Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon is a Nigerian former Head of State and statesman who led the Federal military government war efforts during the Nigerian Civil War.
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigeria was led by General Yakubu Gowon, and Biafra by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu. Biafra represented the nationalist aspirations of the Igbo ethnic group, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the federal government dominated by the interests of the Muslim Hausa-Fulanis of Northern Nigeria. The conflict resulted from political, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in Northern Nigeria.
The flag of Biafra, used by the Republic of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), consists of a horizontal tricolour of red, black, and green, charged with a golden rising sun over a golden bar. The eleven rays of the sun represent the eleven former provinces of Biafra. The rays are typically long and slender with the lowest rays being nearly horizontal and the remaining rays spread evenly between.
The River Niger Bridge or Onitsha Bridge is a bridge that connects the southeastern and western regions of Nigeria across the Niger River. The bridge, which was completed in 1965, is located in Onitsha, Anambra State, and links to Asaba, Delta State. The bridge has two lanes and a pedestrian walkway, and is often congested with traffic and informal traders. A second bridge, known as the Second Niger Bridge or the Second Onitsha Bridge, was inaugurated in 2023 to ease the pressure on the existing bridge and provide a more modern and durable structure.
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The First Invasion of Onitsha was a large military conflict between Biafran and Nigerian forces. The Nigerian 2nd Division managed to seize control of Onitsha for less than one day before being massacred by Biafran soldiers.
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The Second Invasion of Onitsha was military conflict between Nigerian and Biafran military forces.
The Invasion of Umuahia was a military conflict during the Biafran War between Nigerian and Biafran soldiers. The Invasion of Umuahia occurred during the final stages of the Civil War and happened eight months prior to the Biafran surrender.
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