Big Story: The Nigerian Civil War, Why and How It Happened (1967-1970)

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War or the Nigerian-Biafran War, broke out between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra from July 6 1967 to January 15 1970... Read ..Full.. Article.. .

Nigeria’s main reason for going to war was to counter the secession of the Eastern Region (Biafra) from the Republic of Nigeria.

The Igbo people of the Eastern Region felt they could no longer tolerate the Hausa-Fulani-dominated federal government and saw secession as the only way out. It was a three-year bloody war with a death toll numbering more than one million people, children included.

Immediate Causes of the Nigerian Civil War

1. The first military coup of Jan. 15 1966, led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, was seen as an Igbo coup by the Northerners. Prominent Northern leaders like Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello (Premier of the Nothern Region) and his wife, Hafsatu Bello, were killed in the coup while some Igbo leaders were spared. After the coup, General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo officer, was installed as the Head of State. This angered Northerners who sensed foul play. They prepared for retaliation, and..  Read . .More —