The Forgotten Victims: Ethnic Minorities in the Nigeria-Biafra War, 1967-1970

The Nigeria-Biafra War attracted enormous international attention not just for the brutal events of the period but also because of how the conflict was interpreted, especially by foreigners. The ghastly images of victims of the war dominated the international media and roused the world’s conscience. The conflict took a toll on the human lives of both the Igbo and the ethnic minorities in Biafra. While the Igbo tragedy was largely perpetrated in Northern Nigeria, that of the Biafran minorities – Efik, Ijaw, Ogoja, Ibibio – occurred mainly in their homelands.