“Now, therefore, by the authority, and under the principles recited above, I, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria, together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra,” as you have directed me to proclaim on your behalf and in your name.
Gowon attacked Biafra and declared war on it on July 6, 1967.Apart from the Aburi Accord, which attempted to avert the conflict, there were also the OAU-sponsored Addis Ababa Conference (1968), chaired by Emperor Haile Selassie (H.I.M.), and the Niamey Peace Conference (1968), led by President Hamani Diori. This was the last attempt at a diplomatic resolution by Generals Ojukwu and Gowon.
With Ojukwu, the Biafran Supreme Commander’s approval, some participants in the purported coup plot from July 1966 as well as Major Victor Banjo were put to death in 1967 for treason during the war. Among the ones put to death was Major Ifeajuna.
The defendants had maintained that they were innocent of treason and that they had requested a mutually agreed-upon cease-fire with the federal authority.The Nigerian military took advantage of a gap that developed in the Biafran front lines during 2.5 years of fighting and famine. Ojukwu was persuaded to flee the nation in order to avoid being assassinated as it became clear that the war was lost.After giving up command to Chief of General Staff Major-General Philip Effiong on January 9, 1970, he departed for the Ivory Coast, where he was granted political shelter by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who had recognized Biafra on May 14, 1968.
