Spotlight on Africa

Making sense of Biafra protests in Nigeria

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Pro-Biafra supporters hold a poster of jailed activist Nnamdi Kanu during a protest in Aba, southeastern Nigeria, calling for his release.
Pro-Biafra supporters hold a poster of jailed activist Nnamdi Kanu during a protest in Aba, southeastern Nigeria, calling for his release. AFP PHOTO/Pius Utomi Ekpei
By: Michel Arseneault

Nigeria is facing a new wave of protests for a separate Biafran state almost 50 years after the Biafran war started. The past few weeks have seen protests across the southeast where ethnic Igbos are in the majority, following the arrest of the Radio Biafra director last month. Nnamdi Kanu has championed the cause of independence for the southeast, reviving memories of the Biafran war, also referred to as the Nigerian Civil War.