Specially Compiled by Anyi Kings 👑
Published On the Biafra Post
“All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don’t see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder.”
— Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian Minister of Finance, July 28, 1969.
“Until now efforts to relieve the Biafran people have been thwarted by the desire of the central government to pursue total and unconditional victory and by the fear of the Ibo people that surrender means wholesale atrocities and genocide. But genocide is what is taking place right now — and starvation is the grim reaper. This is not the time to stand on ceremony, or go through channels or to observe diplomatic niceties. The destruction of an entire people is an immoral objective, even in the most moral of wars. It can never be condoned.”
— Richard Nixon, during the U.S. presidential campaign, September 9, 1968.
“Federal troops killed, or stood by while mobs killed, more than 5,000 Ibos in Warri, Sapele and Agbor.”
— New York Times, January 10, 1968.
“Mass starvation is a legitimate aspect of war.”
— Anthony Enahoro, Nigerian Commissioner for Information, press conference in New York, July 1968.
“Starvation is a weapon of war, and we have every intention of using it against the rebels.”
— Alison Ayida, Head of the Nigerian delegation, Niamey Peace Talks, July 1968.
“The Igbos must be considerably reduced in number.”
— Lagos policeman quoted in New York Review, December 21, 1967.
“One word now describes the policy of the Nigerian military government towards secessionist Biafra: genocide. It is ugly and extreme, but it is the only word which fits Nigeria’s decision to stop international Red Cross and other relief agencies from flying food to Biafra.”
— Washington Post editorial, July 2, 1969.
“In some areas in the East, Igbos were killed by local people with at least the acquiescence of the Federal forces. One thousand Igbo civilians perished in Benin in this way.”
— Max Edwards, war reporter, New York Review, December 21, 1967.
“After federal forces took over Benin, troops killed about 500 Igbo civilians after a house-to-house search with the aid of willing locals.”
— Washington Morning Post, September 27, 1967.
“The greatest single massacre occurred in the Igbo town of Asaba where 700 Igbo males were lined up and shot as terrified women and children were forced to watch.”
— London Observer, January 21, 1968.
“There has been genocide on the occasion of the 1966 massacres, in the region between the towns of Benin and Asaba where only widows and orphans remain, federal troops having, for unknown reasons, massacred all the men.”
— Le Monde (Paris), April 5, 1968.
“In Calabar, federal forces shot at least 1,000 and perhaps 2,000 Igbos, most of them civilians.”
— New York Times, January 18, 1968.
“Bestialities and indignities of all kinds were visited on the Biafrans in 1966. In Ikeja Barracks, Biafrans were forcibly fed with a mixture of human urine and faeces. In Northern Nigeria, numerous housewives and nursing mothers were violated before their husbands and children. Young girls were abducted from their homes, schools and streets and forced into intercourse with sick, demented and leprous men.”
— Eric Spiff, German War Correspondent, eyewitness account, 1967.
“650 refugee camps contained about 700,000 haggard bundles of human flotsam waiting hopelessly for a meal. Outside the camps was the remainder of an estimated four-and-a-half to five million displaced persons. Kwashiorkor scourge — a million and a half children suffered from it during January; that put the forecast death toll at another 300,000 children. More than the pogroms of 1966, more than the war casualties, more than the terror bombings, it was the experience of watching helplessly their children waste away and die that gave birth to a deep and unrelenting loathing.”
— Frederick Forsyth, British writer and war correspondent, January 21, 1969.
“The Nazis had resurrected just here as Nigerian forces.”
— Washington Post editorial, July 2, 1969.
“The loss of life from starvation continues at more than 10,000 persons per day — over 1,000,000 lives in recent months. Without emergency measures now, the number will climb to 25,000 per day within a month and 2,000,000 deaths by the end of the year. We cannot allow this to continue or those responsible to go free.”
— Senator Edward Kennedy, appeal to Americans, November 17, 1968.
“I want to see no Red Cross, no Caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no missionary, no UN delegation. I want to prevent even one Ibo from having even one piece to eat before their capitulation. We shoot at everything that moves, and when our troops march into the centre of Ibo territory, we shoot at everything, even things that do not move.”
— Benjamin Adekunle, Commander, 3rd Marine Commando Division, Nigerian Army, interview with French Radio.
“Among the large majority hailing from that tribe who are the most vocal in inciting the complete extermination of the Igbos, I often heard remarks that all Nigeria’s ills will be cured once the Igbos have been exterminated from the human map.”
— Dr. Conor Cruise O’Brien, New York Review, December 21, 1967.
Remember The Fallen
The memories of the Nigeria–Biafra War remain deeply emotional for many families across the old Eastern Region and beyond. Millions were displaced, countless civilians died from starvation and violence, and entire communities were permanently scarred by the conflict.
As Biafrans mark May 30th in remembrance of those who lost their lives, these historical quotes and reports continue to be cited by many as evidence of the suffering endured during the war years between 1967 and 1970.
#RememberThe30thMayAndKeepItHoly
#30thMaySitAtHomeIsSacrosanct
Anyi Kings
May 28, 2026
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