Thirteen years had passed since the Nigerian Civil War ended. Ojukwu, the former military governor of Nigeria’s Eastern Region, proclaimed the secession of the area and the creation of the independent state of Biafra on May 30, 1967.
As the Head of State of Biafra, the former Lieutenant Colonel of the Nigerian Army oversaw the war against Federal Nigeria from July1967 to January 1970. He fled to the Ivory Coast for exile just before Biafra fell. On June 18, 1982, Ojukwu returned to Nigeria following his pardon from President Shehu Shagari’s civilian regime.
