The History of the 8th of January in Nigeria On this day in 1970, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra, fled into exile in the Ivory Coast. There, President Félix Houphouet-Boigny, who had recognized the Republic of Biafra on May 14, 1968, granted him political asylum.
After all hopes of Biafra winning the war had vanished, Ojukwu fled to avoid being captured and killed. Philip Effiong, his deputy, became the acting leader of Biafra until his surrender on January 15, 1970.
