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Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria

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Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria
Date22 January 2021 –present[1]
(3 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)
LocationFormer Eastern Region of Nigeria, plus Delta State and Benue State
(Possible spillover into Bakassi, Cameroon)[2]
Result

Ongoing

  • IPOB declared on 19 February that a state of war existed[3]
Belligerents
Flag of Nigeria Nigeria Biafra Biafran separatists
Commanders and leaders
Muhammadu Buhari
(President of Nigeria)
Ibrahim Attahiru
(Chief of Army Staff)
Ibrahim Tukura
(Brig. Gen. of 34 Brigade)[4]
Hope Uzodinma
(Imo State Governor)		 Nnamdi Kanu
(Leader of IPOB)
Asari-Dokubo
(Head of BCG)
Units involved

Nigerian Armed Forces

Nigeria Police Force[7]

  • Imo State Police Command[7]
Armed Fulani raiders[8]

Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

Biafra Nations League[2]
Niger Delta militants[9]

The insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria (initially known as the Orlu Crisis) is a military conflict that broke out in the city of Orlu, Nigeria when the Nigerian Army moved to crush the paramilitary wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN).[10] The conflict escalated after the ESN managed to repulse the initial push by the Nigerian Army,[5] but IPOB ended the initial crisis by unilaterally withdrawing the ESN from Orlu. After a few weeks of quiet, Nigeria launched a military offensive in the area to destroy the ESN. On 19 February, IPOB declared that as of the day before, a state of war existed between Nigeria and Biafra.[3] Three weeks later, another separatist group declared the formation of a Biafran interim government which was subsequently endorsed by IPOB.[11]

Background[]

Map of southern Nigeria with Biafra highlighted

Biafra (light brown) attempted to separate from the rest of Nigeria (dark brown) during the Nigerian Civil War.

In 1967, separatists in Nigeria's southeast declared the formation of the independent state of Biafra. The subsequent Nigerian Civil War lasted two and a half years, led to over a million dead, and ended with the defeat of Biafra. Over the following decades, Nigeria continued to suffer from regional instability and revolts, but Biafra separatism was mostly dormant until the 2000s.[12][13] Some Niger Delta communities such as the Ijaw people even integrated anti-Biafran sentiment into their own popular narratives, as they had mostly sided with the central government during the Nigerian Civil War.[14]

From the 1990s, a growing number of people in southeastern Nigeria such as Igbo and Niger Delta natives felt marginalized by the Nigerian central government. This resulted in the violent conflict in the Niger Delta, and previously anti-Biafran communities such as Ijaw began to reevaluate their commitment to Nigeria.[14] Coupled with disaffection among the youth due to high unemployment, this contributed to a resurgence of Biafran nationalism in the entire southeast. While most of the local political leadership distanced themselves from separatism, radical Biafran nationalists organized in the secessionist group IPOB.[12][13]

At the same time, Nigerians became disaffected as the central government failed to suppress the destructive Boko Haram insurgency as well as banditry in the north, while the Nigerian security forces faced accusations of corruption, ineffectiveness, and abuse. Journalists Cai Nebe and Muhammad Bello argued that "swathes of Nigeria remain near-ungovernable" as of Muhammadu Buhari's second presidency. Tensions in the southeast continued to rise after the local economy, heavily dependant on exporting oil, suffered under worldwide low oil prices. By 2020, IPOB had managed to rally substantial following to its cause, although polls showcased that Biafran separatism was not widely supported in the southeast.[13]

In August 2020, Nigerian police forces went to an IPOB meeting in Enugu and executed 21 unarmed IPOB members with two police officers dead. Both sides accused the other of firing the first shot.[15] Following the incident, IPOB pledged to retaliate and called on its members to start practicing self-defense.[16] In late-September, at least two Nigerian soldiers were killed during clashes with unidentified gunmen in Enugu; however, IPOB denied any involvement, announcing that "we are not armed and have no plans to pick up arms."[17]

On December 12, 2020, Kanu announced the formation of the ESN to protect Igbos against Fulani raiders. Unwilling to countenance the formation of a non-state-sanctioned paramilitary organization on its territory, the Nigerian government deployed the army to locate ESN camps two weeks later.[8]

The Orlu Crisis (16–28 January)[]

On 16 January 2021 Nigerian soldiers invaded an ESN camp but was repulsed.[18]

On January 22, Nigerian soldiers invaded Orlu to search for ESN operatives. Eight buildings were burnt and one person was killed in the ensuing events.[19] Security forces re-invaded the area three days later, clashing with the ESN and killing at least five people[20] before being repulsed by the ESN.[5] Four Nigerian soldiers were killed in the fighting.[21] The Nigerian Army withdrew from Orlu, and in the following days, Nigerian Air Force planes and helicopters were deployed to search for ESN operatives in and around Orlu.[5]

On January 28, more than 400 Nigerian soldiers were deployed to oust the ESN[22] and the authorities declared a curfew which was brutally enforced. The curfew and the anticipation of imminent heavy fighting caused civilians to flee the city en masse.[23] Later on the same day, Nnamdi Kanu declared a unilateral ceasefire and ordered the ESN withdraw from Orlu[24] to focus on Fulani raiders instead. Kanu claimed that this decision was based on intelligence information that revealed that the army and the police had agreed to withdraw from Orlu also.[1]

Interlude[]

During the fighting, police officers of the Imo State Police were caught on video flogging civilians, possibly as punishment for curfew violations. After the ceasefire, at least ten police officers were arrested, and Commissioner of Police Nasiru Mohammed condemned their behavior.[7]

Days after the Orlu Crisis, IPOB gave all the governors of southeast Nigeria 14 days to ban open grazing, threatening to deploy the ESN to enforce a ban if the authorities did not do so.[25] However, the ESN did not wait 14 days; a few days later, ESN operatives attacked a Fulani camp in Isuikwuato, Abia State, killing their livestock and burning down their houses.[26] Following the raid, some governors responded by heeding the ESN's call and banning open grazing.[27]

Renewed fighting and declaration of war (18 February–present)[]

At some point in mid-February, the Nigerian Army 34 Artillery Brigade launched an operation to find ESN camps around Orlu and Orsu. The Nigerian Army also reinforced Orlu, deploying military helicopters to the city.[28] Hostilities were renewed on February 18, when the Nigerian Army and the ESN fought a gun battle in the forest outside Orlu[29] while the Nigerian Air Force conducted air strikes in the area.[30] A day into the fighting, the confrontation had spread to Ihiala, Anambra State.[31] Nigerian forces captured an ESN base in the village of Udah outside Orsu on 21 February.[32] The Nigerian Army 82 division also arrested 20 suspected IPOB members and confiscated their weapons.[33]

The same day as hostilities were renewed, IPOB said that the military deployment constituted a "declaration of war against the Igbos" and accused the Nigerian government of planning a "final solution to the Biafran question". The group declared that Nigeria had "crossed the line of no return" and that Igbos now had no choice but defend themselves.[34] The next day, IPOB declared that the "second Nigeria/Biafra war" had begun on 18 February, and that unlike in the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, Biafra would win.[3]

Spillover and escalation[]

Within a few days, the danger of spillover into other parts of the former East Region became evident. In response to the Nigerian military operation in and around Orlu,[35] the Biafra Nations League (BNL; initially known as Biafra Nations Youth League / BNYL)[36] threatened to attack all oil installations in Bakassi.[35] In Aguata, Anambra State, suspected Biafran separatists killed four policemen at a checkpoint and took off with their weapons on 24 February.[37] Another four policemen were killed in Calabar the next day.[38] On 26 February, a police station was attacked in Aboh Mbaise, Imo State.[39] On 3 March, gunmen killed two policemen in Cross River State.[40]

The attacks were condemned by the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), another Biafran separatist movement. MASSOB also condemned Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma for inviting the Nigerian Army.[41]

Local authorities blamed the ESN and IPOB for many attacks on police stations, some of which preceded the Orlu Crisis. The Police Commissioner of Delta State alleged that IPOB elements had crossed the Niger River to infiltrate the state. To prevent such infiltrations, the Nigerian Navy started patrolling the river.[6] In early March, IPOB threatened to deploy the ESN to Benue State to protect Igbos against Fulani raiders; this came after the killings of IPOB activists by armed Fulani.[42] Days later, Nnamdi Kanu declared that the ESN had captured a prominent Fulani bandit leader named Mohammed Isa in Benue State.[43]

In mid-March, the leader of the Niger Delta People's Salvation Force, Asari-Dokubo, declared the formation of the Biafra Customary Government (BCG). The BCG was intended as the first step of establishing a de facto government for an independent State of Biafra. Dokubo stated that Biafra would not go to war, but that it would go through with secession from Nigeria.[11] IPOB soon threw its support behind the BCG, declaring that it would support any Biafran independence movement.[44] A few days later, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), another separatist movement led by Ralph Uwazuruike, endorsed the BCG.[45] Internationally, IPOB gained the support of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), an Ambazonian separatist movement led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and with its own armed wing, the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF). In April, IPOB and AGovC moved towards a formal alliance.[46] This move was not unprecedented, as the BNL/BNYL had already openly aligned itself with Ambazonian separatists in 2017.[47]

While separatist movements formed a unified front, militants escalated the war. Soon after the formation of the BCG, the BNL declared that it had taken control over "creeks and bushes" in the Bakassi Peninsula, and threatened to hijack any oil vessels coming from there.[2] On March 19, gunmen attacked a prison and a police station in Ekwulobia, releasing several prisoners and killing two policemen and two prison officials, but failing to burn down the police station. IPOB denied any involvement.[48]

On March 15, the ESN invaded Eleme to expel Fulani herders. A week into the ESN offensive, Fulani raiders invaded Agbonchia and committed atrocities against the civilian population.[49]

On April 5, armed men stormed a prison in Owerri, enabling some 1,800 inmates to escape. The Nigerian government blamed IPOB, which in turn denied any involvement.[50]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Orlu: Nnamdi Kanu orders ESN to ceasefire against Army, watchful of Fulani herdsmen, Daily Post, Jan 28, 2021. Accessed Jan 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 We’ll unleash mayhem, hoist Biafran flags in Nigeria, Cameroon – BNL boasts, Daily Post, Mar 17, 2021. Accessed Mar 18, 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Second Nigeria/Biafra War Has Just Started But We Will Defend Our Land — IPOB , Sahara Reports, Feb 19, 2021. Accessed Feb 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 ESN, ARMY CLASH IN ORLU: Mbazulike Amechi, MASSOB, others allege hidden agenda, Vanguard, Jan 27, 2021. Accessed Jan 30, 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Military Jet Combs Orlu Communities For ESN Operatives After Failed Land Combat, Sahara Reporters, Jan 27, 2021. Accessed Jan 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 28 policemen killed in three months, The Nation, Mar 1, 2021. Accessed Mar 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Imo police arrest 10 officers for abusing Orlu residents, The Guardian, Jan 30, 2021. Accessed Jan 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nigerian Soldiers Resigned To Join Kanu's Eastern Network – Military Sources, Sahara Reporters, Jan 22, 2021. Accessed Jan 22, 2021.
  9. ↑ ‘Asari Dokubo asking Niger Delta to join Biafra is a suicide mission’, PM News, Mar 17, 2021. Accessed Mar 18, 2021.
  10. ↑ Orlu Crisis: Imo Eastern Security Network (ESN) clash wit soldiers, Uzodinma impose curfew - Wetin we know so far, BBC, Jan 25, 2021. Accessed Jan 28, 2021. (Pidgin)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 ‘Nobody can stop us’ — Asari Dokubo declares Biafra government, The Cable, Mar 14, 2021. Accessed Mar 15, 2021.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mannir Dan Ali (30 November 2015). "Letter from Africa: Should new calls for Biafra worry Nigerians?". https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34911465. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Nigerian military reshuffle belies serious security concerns". 27 January 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/nigerian-army-reshuffle-security-crisis/a-56362452. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou (2009). "Heroes and Villains: Ijaw Nationalist Narratives of the Nigerian Civil War". Africa development. Afrique et développement. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228633160_Heroes_and_Villains_Ijaw_Nationalist_Narratives_of_the_Nigerian_Civil_War. 
  15. ↑ Nigeria: New clashes after security forces break up meeting of Biafran separatists, France24, Aug 26, 2020. Accessed Aug 30, 2020.
  16. ↑ No meeting in Enugu for now, we will retaliate — IPOB, Vanguard, Aug 24, 2020. Accessed Aug 27, 2020.
  17. ↑ Nigeria: IPOB Denies Responsibility for Attacks On Security Agents in Southeast, AllAfrica, Sep 27, 2020. Accessed Sep 28, 2020.
  18. ↑ https://theajm.news.blog/2021/01/16/police-abandon-vehicles-and-flee-as-they-clash-with-esn-in-orlu/
  19. ↑ Eastern Security Network: Over 8 buildings including church allegedly burnt, one feared dead in Imo, Vanguard, Jan 25, 2021. Accessed Jan 25, 2021.
  20. ↑ Soldiers Invade IPOB Eastern Security Network's Operational Base, Kill Five, Burn Church, Others, SaharaReporters, Jan 25, 2021. Accessed Jan 25, 2021.
  21. ↑ Orlu killing: Imo State Eastern Security Network (ESN) crisis kill four soldiers - Police, Nnamdi Kanu react, BBC, Jan 26, 2021. Accessed Jan 26, 2021.
  22. ↑ Tension heightens in Orlu as Nigerian govt deploys over 400 soldiers, Daily Post, Jan 28, 2021. Accessed Jan 28, 2021.
  23. ↑ Orlu on standstill as residents desert town, The Nation, Jan 28, 2021. Accessed Jan 28, 2021.
  24. ↑ Imo Clash: Nnamdi Kanu Orders ESN Operatives To Cease Fire, Return To Forests, Sahara Reporters, Jan 28, 2021. Accessed Jan 28, 2021.
  25. ↑ IPOB gives Southeast governors 14 days ultimatum to ban open grazing, The Nation, Jan 30, 2021. Accessed Jan 30, 2021.
  26. ↑ Herdsmen Flee As IPOB's Eastern Security Network Invades Fulani Camp In Abia, Kills Many Cows, Sahara Reporters, Jan 31, 2021. Accessed Feb 1, 2021.
  27. ↑ IPOB hails Southeast Governors’ ban on open grazing, The Nation, Feb 2, 2021. Accessed Feb 2, 2021.
  28. ↑ ESN: Army deploys soldiers, helicopters in Orlu, Punch, Feb 18, 2021. Accessed Feb 18, 2021.
  29. ↑ Orlu : soldiers, ESN members in gun battle, Vanguard, Feb 18, 2021. Accessed Feb 18, 2021.
  30. ↑ Tension As Nigerian Military Conducts Air Strikes In Orlu In Search Of ESN, Sahara Reporters, Feb 18, 2021. Accessed Feb 18, 2021.
  31. ↑ Heavy gunfire in Anambra, Imo communities as military engages IPOB's ESN, The Sun, Feb 19, 2021. Accessed Sun 19, 2021.
  32. ↑ Joint Security Team Sacks IPOB Security Network From Imo Forest, Sahara Reporters, Feb 22, 2021. Accessed Feb 22, 2021.
  33. ↑ Breaking: Troops arrest 20 IPOB members, recover arms, hand them to Police, Vanguard, Feb 22, 2021. Accessed Feb 22, 2021..
  34. ↑ Flying military helicopter over Imo community ‘declaration of war’ – IPOB, Premium Times Nigeria, Feb 18, 2021. Accessed Feb 18, 2021.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Imo: Biafra group issues threat over military raid, Uzodinma's comments on IPOB, ESN, Daily Post, Feb 20, 2021. Accessed Feb 24, 2021.
  36. ↑ Rivers killings: Biafra group attacks Nnamdi Kanu for demanding Gov Wike's capture
  37. ↑ Gunmen kill four policemen at checkpoint in Anambra, The Nation, Feb 24, 2021. Accessed Feb 24, 2021.
  38. ↑ Four police officers killed in Calabar – Official, Premium Times, Feb 28, 2021. Accessed Feb 28, 2021.
  39. ↑ Gunmen raze another police station in Nigeria’s South-east, Premium Times, Feb 26, 2021. Accessed Feb 26, 2021.
  40. ↑ BREAKING: Again, gunmen kill two police officers in Cross River, Premium Times, Mar 3, 2021. Accessed Mar 3, 2021.
  41. ↑ MASSOB berates Uzodimma, condemns attack on Abia police station, The Punch, Feb 25, 2021. Accessed Feb 25, 2021.
  42. ↑ Protect Igbo Communities In Benue Or ESN Will Move In, IPOB Tells Governor Ortom, Sahara Reporters, Mar 5, 2021. Accessed Mar 5, 2021.
  43. ↑ ESN Has Captured Notorious Fulani Bandits' Leader Terrorising Benue, Others, Mohammed Isa —Nnamdi Kanu, Sahara Reporters, Mar 8, 2021. Accessed Mar 8, 2021.
  44. ↑ IPOB backs Dokubo’s declaration of Biafra, The Nation, Mar 18, 2021. Accessed Mar 18, 2021.
  45. ↑ Biafra: Uwazuruike, MASSOB back Asari-Dokubo, The Nation, Mar 18, 2021. Accessed Mar 20, 2021.
  46. ↑ BREAKING: Nnamdi Kanu, Ambazonia leader to address joint world press conference April 9, Vanguard, Apr 5, 2021. Accessed Apr 7, 2021.
  47. ↑ "Southern Cameroun joins IPOB in Biafra struggle". 18 April 2017. https://www.sunnewsonline.com/southern-cameroun-joins-ipob-in-biafra-struggle/. 
  48. ↑ Gunmen kill two policemen, two prison warders in Anambra, The Nation, Mar 20, 2021. Accessed Mar 20, 2021.
  49. ↑ ESN Operatives Storm Rivers Community In Full Force To Evict Fulani Herdsmen, Sahara Reporters, Mar 22, 2021. Accessed Mar 23, 2021.
  50. ↑ More than 1,800 prisoners escape in Nigeria, BBC, Apr 5, 2021. Accessed Apr 6, 2021.
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