Gen. Murtala Ramat Mohammed, initiated many changes during his brief time in office: he began the process of moving the federal capital to Abuja, addressed the issue of government inefficiency, and initiated the process for a return to civilian control. These were people who were doing all sorts of things and the war forced them out of their positions.". He was born on December 23, 1935. Ogbugo Kalu, a retired military officer who passed away in February 2004, served in both the Nigerian Army and the Biafran Army. One united Nigeria is better.. I wont subscribe to war today, because I saw war, he said. It was carried out by the 61 Brigade under Major Okeke. She says they walked all day and survived only on achara, a vegetable similar to a leek, until they got to their destination. Almost every student he knew became part of the war effort. The situation deteriorated, however, after differences developed over the interpretation of the accord. Two Fouga Magisters and several Gloster Meteors were bought but never arrived in Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases. In September 1966,approximately 30,000 Igbo were killed in the north, and some Northerners were killed in backlashes in eastern cities. The Biafran Navy was made up of captured craft, converted tugs, and armor-reinforced civilian vessels armed with machine guns or captured6-pounder guns. ", Felix Nwankwo Oragwu and others helped develop some of the weapons that Biafran soldiers used, "You were forced to fraternise with your people more than any time before", The plight of Biafrans gained support among activists around the world, including in London, where this protest was held in 1968, Ojukwu was given a full Nigerian military burial in March 2012, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. After being given formal military training in both Ghana and the United Kingdom, Kalu was short service commissioned a Second Lieutenant in November 1959. 2023 The Sun Nigeria All Right Reserved. In 1967, following two coups and turmoil which led to about a million Igbos returning to the south-east of Nigeria, the Republic of Biafra seceded with 33-year-old military officer Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the helm. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Lt Col. Ojukwu inspects Biafran troops on June 11, 1968. [66]The Nigerian military killed at least 17unarmed Biafrans in the city ofOnitshaprior to a march on 30May 2016 commemorating the 49th anniversary of Biafras 1967 declaration of independence. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Mr Ago remembers the overpowering hunger that often forced Biafran soldiers to catch and eat mice. 3 of 1967. The Nigerian government at the time opposed secession, which ensued after failed talks on reconciliation. He also saw action in the Port Harcourt sector and ultimately rose to the rank of Colonel in the Nigerian Army, he retired in the 1980s. From: 56 Brigade. The Nigerians who were pursuing us were trained soldiers We were drafted into the war, given two days' training. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, became head of the government. The talks were largely unsuccessful in curbing the conflict between Biafra and Nigeria. They were painted in green camouflage and armed with two Matra Type122 rocket pods, each being able to carry six 68mm SNEB anti-armour rockets under each wing and had SwedishWW2reflex sights from oldFFVS J 22s. Asked whether she harboured any resentment towards them, the businesswoman shook her head. War exposure of mothers (but not fathers) has adverse impacts on child growth, survival, and education. Nzeogwus Hausa colleagues in the Nigerian Army gave him the name Kaduna because of his love with the town. Muslim officers named a General from a small ethnic group (the Angas) in central Nigeria, GeneralYakubu Jack Gowon, as the head of the Federal Military Government (FMG). Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died in the United Kingdom, according to Nigeria's president. Col. Aniebo was also one of the Biafran soldiers in 1967. It was during one of Okorories trips to the market that her brothers house was bombed. Background Nigeria became an independent country on October 1, 1960. He collected his portion from an allocation of raw rice to his unit, then set off towards the village of a relative, where he suspected his parents and siblings would be holed up. Young Biafran soldiers inspect an unexploded shell in June 1968. [41], Biafra also had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success that their air force did. The group enacted a re-launch of Biafra inAba, the commercial centre ofAbia Stateand a major commercial centre on Igbo land. A group of emaciated children photographed in 1970. He was one of the few Nigerian Military Officers of his time like Yakubu Gowon (who later became Head of State) and Alexander Madiebo (who later became the General Officer Commanding (G.O.C.) The surrender was facilitated by the Biafran Vice President and Chief of General Staff, Major General Philip Effiong, who assumed leadership of the Republic of Biafra after the original President, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, fled to Ivory Coast. "That was the largest assembly we had," she recalled. The RAP's most notable product was the "ogbunigwe", a weapons launcher of remarkable and devastating effect which influenced the outcome of many battles in Biafra's favour, according to historical reports. Situation in this sector is definitely out of hand if not hopeless. He promised to consider the matter, and the Italians were subsequently released. Finally, members of Biafran National Guard, (BNG), were mostly comprised of United States Citizens, prior military Veterans, who had once sworn to protect and defend the United States of America, (meaning that we prior Military Veterans, and professional retired law enforcement officers had already volunteered to fight for any cause involving . (Recall that it was in a similar operation that Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu died in controversial circumstances). Four days later, Ojukwu unilaterally declared the independence of the Republic of Biafra, citing the Easterners killed in the post-coup violence as reasons for the declaration of independence. He also remembers the last year of the war when his unit was continuously on the move, fleeing the advancing Nigerian army. Because of the lack of official support, the Biafrans manufactured many of their weapons locally. These events sparked the decision to secede, spearheaded by Ojukwu, who was then the military governor of the Eastern Region. "Once his helicopter touched down, everybody went there and, practically, school shut down. It was headquartered in Kidney Island,Port Harcourt, and commanded by Winifred Anuku. Lambert Ihenacho, is known as a brilliant and resourceful officer in the Nigerian Army. Ojukwu died after a brief illness at age 78 in November, 2011. 2, Coscharis Street, Kirikiri industrial Layout, Apapa, Lagos. Needless to say that never happened. Okororie says she wished she had died, too. This number grew as the war progressed, ultimately reaching 30,000. The oil boom that followed the war allowed the federal government to finance development programs and consolidate its power. Nigerian police push back crowds of demonstrators outside the French Embassy in Lagos on September 16, 1968. They only had knives and cutlasses. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trump says 'great to be home' on visit to Scotland, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, JP Morgan snaps up troubled US bank First Republic, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, Indian 'killer' elephant relocated to tiger reserve. "That is what makes me sad. The southern population is predominantlyChristian, being primarily made up of territory of the indigenousYorubaand Biafra kingdoms in the West and East respectively. Recently, Anthony Okoro Eze who retired from the Nigerian Army as a Colonel passed on at the age of 80 years. A decade later in 1964 and during the Western political crisis[18]divided the Western Region asLadoke Akintolaclashed withObafemi Awolowo. [7] Its early inventory included two B-25 Mitchells, two B-26 Invaders, (one piloted by Polish World War II ace Jan Zumbach, known also as John Brown),[8] a converted DC-3 and one Dove. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "The Last Adventurer" by Steiner, Rolf (Boston:, Little, Brown 1978), Chinese-made weapons may have come from Zambia or Tanzania (, http://www.canit.se/~griffon/aviation/text/biafra.htm, "The Douglas A/B-26 Invader - Biafran Invaders", https://web.archive.org/web/20130509094109/http://vectaris.net/id307.html, Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, http://www.marinavasca.eu/en/ficha-otras-marinas-auxiliares.php?id=49&o=, https://books.google.fr/books?id=o50VqaPTWkoC, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. In 1967, following two coups and turmoil which led to about a million Igbos returning to the south-east of Nigeria, the Republic of Biafra seceded with 33-year-old military officer Emeka Odumegwu. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Some of the positions he held in the Biafran Army include administrative officer, Biafran Army Headquarters and Commander, 11th and 13th Divisions of the Biafran Army, as well as the guerrilla commando unit. Major General Philip Effiong, the Republic of Biafra's Vice President and Chief of General Staff, orchestrated the surrender after the original President, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, escaped to the Ivory Coast. Some women on the trail were raped and killed by soldiers, while others died in bombing raids. The four most senior officers of Northern origin were also killed. Subsequently, the Biafran Commander-in-Chief posted him to Army Headquarters as Chief of Operations under Madiebo, away from field operations. Most of the officers were students or educated civilians drafted into the Biafran Army and given a few days of training and poor military gear. Charles W. Thomas defined the locations of islands in the Bight of Biafra as between the parallels of longitude 5 and 9 East and latitude 4 North and 2 South. In the letter Ojukwu states: "Your role in the Port Harcourt disaster is still fresh in the minds of people. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. During Nigeria's civil war, he was a young officer in the Biafran army. 2023 Cable News Network. The Nigerian Civil War (1967- 1970), was an ethnic and political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the South-eastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed republic of Biafra. [4] Mdecins Sans Frontires also originated in response to the suffering. In early 1968 the Biafran army captured the city of Owerri at the Capture of Owerri. The territory of the Republic of Biafra is covered nowadays by the reorganizedNigerian statesofCross River,Ebonyi,Enugu,Anambra,Imo,Bayelsa,Rivers,Abia, andAkwa Ibom. In the west the government had fallen apart in 1962, and a boycott of the federal election of December 1964 brought Nigeria to the brink of breakdown. However, their brilliant performance helped the Biafran army in the war that lasted till 1970. France provided weapons and mercenary fighters to Biafra and promoted their cause internationally, describing the situation as a genocide. There were other new entrants in Biafra like Lieutenant Achike Udenwa (who later became governor of Imo state). Biafran conflict: A grandmother's perspective on the war. The first operation under a gallant Biafran Officer, Nweke, had troops crossing into Umuabayi from Akwete. At the outbreak of hostilities in July 1967 that marked the beginning of the Nigerian Biafran war, Aghanya was commissioned into the Biafran Army with the rank of Colonel and appointed Commanding Officer of the 44th Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Battalion Biafran Army by the then Chief of Staff Biafran Army, Brigadier Hillary Njoku. 4 of 1967, modified the Banking Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the Republic of Biafra. This was because troops of 62 Brigade who were to clear the right half of the town, were yet to arrive. During the meeting, Mrs Nwanunobi conveyed to Ojukwu that he stood the risk of losing European support. No gun, no bomb, no nothing. July 31: France voices support for Ojukwu. In September1969, Biafra acquired four ex-FrenchNorth American T-6 Texans (T-6G), which were flown to Biafra the following month, with another aircraft lost on the ferry flight. [9][67], Another group is the Biafra Nations Youth League (BNYL), which has its members and followers mostly in the Niger Delta and Bakassi Peninsula, the group is led by Princewill Chimezie Richard (aka. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. This number grew as the war progressed, ultimately reaching 30,000. A Biafran soldier carries an elderly woman from the wreckage of her home following an artillery bombardment by the Nigerian army in June 1968. Oguta town served as Biafra's major supply line for arms and relief material during the war. By this time, we would have been competing with at least South Korea.". Powered & Managed by Portia Web Solution. She lost three children in the war. No gun, no bomb, no nothing.". Nigerian Civil War, also called Nigerian-Biafran War, war between Nigeria 's federal government and the secessionist state Biafra that lasted from 1967 to 1970. "I was worried that he would come to harm," she said softly. Causes included battlefield deaths, ethnic cleansing, and starvation. The six planes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots. [1] History [ edit] Disabled Biafran war veterans in 2017. If any meeting lasted more than two hours, he wouldn't be party to it.". The . Although sabotage cannot be totally ruled out in a war situation, the political authorities could not admit that despite the gallant and brave efforts of Biafran troops in many battles, the simple truth was that the balance of ammunition tilted heavily in favour of the Nigerians with strong backing from Britain. These include but are not limited to Madiebo, Eze and Captain August Okpe, the only one of them in the Biafran Airforce (BAF) who in 2010 published a major book on the air-war between Nigeria and Biafra titled, Biafra: The Last Flight. He had just finished grammar school and started training as a veterinary assistant at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in south-eastern Nigeria, when the civil war began. The Deputy Leader, Ebuta Ogar Takon is an Ejagham native, half Nigerian and half Cameroon. Biafra at 50: The war that changed Nigeria, 'We fought for Biafra' Video, 00:01:13'We fought for Biafra', 1969: Nigeria bans Red Cross aid to Biafra, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Air strikes pound Sudan capital as truce extended. A Warner Bros. Major-General Hassan Umaru, a Nigerian Army officer, said that the army "would like to send an unequivocal warning to all those threatening and agitating for the dismemberment of the country . [2] No official support for the Biafran Army came from any other nation, although arms were clandestinely acquired. It is probably for this reason that the war is barely mentioned. This led to a divisive and bitter war from 1967 to 1970. Now in her 80s, Okororie is one of the millions of civilians who lived in what was then Biafra a secessionist state carved out from Nigerias southeast in 1967. Being from the eastern part of the country, Adizua says the soldiers on the Nigerian side questioned his flatmates, suspicious he was providing information to Biafran soldiers in the east. Biafras declaration of independence from Nigeria resulted in a civil war between Biafra and Nigeria. Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Military_ranks_of_Biafra&oldid=1141070577, Articles lacking sources from February 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 05:38. In the latter stages, a Southern FMG offensive managed to break through the fierce resistance.[23]. He was an ambitious young military officer but this rebellious attitude led to his arrest after a failed plotted coup. [4], In course of the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria of 2021, a separatist group known as "Biafran National Guard" (BNG) organized the "Biafran Supreme Military Council of Administration". Njoku, a lawyer is a connoisseur of Biafran War Literature. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the President, of Igbo extraction, and the favored Western Region politicianObafemi Awolowowere not killed. Colonel Chris Ugokwe commanded the Biafran 52 Brigade which was stationed in the Owerri sector. He was then posted to Signal Corps of the Nigerian Army. In 1968, Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen suggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu. My mother died with three of my children, two boys, and a girl, she told CNN. Many others have been injured and/or arrested. The Military ranks of Biafra were the military insignia used by the Biafran Armed Forces between 1967 and 1970, when Biafra was defeated in the Nigerian Civil War. We intend to stay on and make the supreme sacrifice. Nigeria led multiple. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? Those killed included Ahmadu Bello, a revered leader in the north. Conflicts were endemic, as regional leaders protected their privileges; the south complained of northern domination, and the north feared that the southern elite was bent on capturing power. "We thought we were magicians," said 76-year-old Mr Ago. The few trained officers had to . Ojukwu himself remained in exile for 13 years. The two-month period of the Nigerian civil war from August 9 to October 8th 1967 represent the entry and exit dates of Biafran forces from the Midwest. Biafra, officially theRepublic of Biafra, was a secessionist state inWest Africathat existed from May1967 to January1970 during theNigerian Civil War. Because of this, the Biafrans manufactured many of their weapons locally. Why the Republic of Biafra? Though he was much older than me, as a fellow Old Boy of Government College Umuahia, I knew him fairly well and interacted very closely with him in 2007 when he was to be honoured by the Lagos Branch of the Association at its Annual Dinner of which I was the chairman of the Dinner Committee under the presidency of C.N.C. Estimates of the number of people who died during the Nigerian Civil War vary significantly, from 500,000 to 3,000,000. He returned to Nigeria in 1955 after his graduation and later joined the army where he was eventually appointed military governor of the eastern region of Nigeria, mostly inhabited by Igbo people. This led to months of massacres against the Igbo living in the north. A retired general of the Biafran Army presents a post-mortem account of the events of the Nigerian civil war, 1966-70. It was headquartered in Kidney Island, Port Harcourt, and was commanded by Winifred Anuku. However, it is a period Okororie says she can never forget. She was teaching English and French in a secondary school in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria when the civil war began. "Somewhere in the middle of the war," he said, "the Biafrans made some dramatic successes that gave us hope that we might hold the Nigerians until at least some help from outside came.". He rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the Nigerian Army and he retired in the mid-1990s. But survivors like Adizua are cautious about the possibility of another war. [36], The international humanitarian organisationMdecins Sans Frontiresoriginated in response to the suffering in Biafra. People were running. 6:08 AM EST, Thu January 16, 2020. Two Fouga Magister and several Gloster Meteor were bought but never arrived to Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases. [71][72]BNYL, which operates more in the riverine areas, has links with Dokubo Asari, a former militant leader, about 100members of the group were reportedly arrested in Bayelsa during meeting with Dokubo on 18August 2019. The Nigerian government declared war and after 30 months of fighting, Biafra surrendered. He married Mrs. Joan Angelina Eze from Grenada, West Indies in 1960. Mrs Nwanunobi spent much of the 1970s in Canada before returning to Nigeria in 1977, where she resumed work as a secondary school teacher. [7] It was purported that at the start of the civil war, Igbos withdrew their funds from Nigerian banks and converted it to the Biafran currency. Biafra was short on ammunition, its people were desperate for food, and its leaders controlled only one-sixth of the territory that had formed the Biafran republic in 1967. Biafran soldiers advance towards a Nigerian army position in June 1968. In September 1969, Biafra acquired four ex-Armee de l'Air North American T-6Gs, which were flown to Biafra the following month, with another T-6 lost on the ferry flight. Colonel Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared Eastern Nigeria a sovereign state to be known as BIAFRA after the Nigerian military leadership peace conference hosted by General Joseph Ankrah in January, 1967, in Aburi, Ghana. All rights reserved. A last-ditch effort to save the country was made in January 1967, when the Eastern delegation, led by Lieut. After his release in 1967, he was asked to go into battle on the side of the Biafrans where he was promoted to the rank of a Biafran Lt.colonel but he got killed in an ambush. Mr Oragwu wishes that the Igbo had paid less attention to the scramble for power at the centre, and instead distinguished their region by advancing the technological gains of the war. He spiked everybody up and we formed songs and were singing and enjoying ourselves.". With the help of other French doctors, Kouchner put Biafra in the media spotlight and called for an international response to the situation. Her most memorable assignment occurred after the Biafran military captured six Italian oil workers employed by the Nigerian government. This exceptionally good Biafran Battalion was under the command of Major Archibong, one of the bravest officers I ever met. "Plus the fact that we were hungry. Adizua also got his old job back at NEPA and was paid his full salary for the years he was absent during the war. He did not run for the presidency in 1979, and Nigeria shifted to civilian rule, thus closing the era of military control during and around the Nigerian Civil War. Read about our approach to external linking. [13], Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success of the air force. In February 1956, he joined the Officer Cadet Training at R.O.S.T.S., Teshie, Accra, Ghana till September 1956. He was behind the setting up of four universities of science and technology in different regions of Nigeria and after retirement he published Scientific and Technological Innovations in Biafra, a book he hoped would inspire young Nigerians. Tens of thousands were killed while about a million fled to what was then known as the Eastern Region. These aircraft flew missions until January 1970 manned by Portuguese ex-military pilots. [2] No official support for the Biafran Army came from any other nation, although arms were clandestinely acquired. Author of. These aircraft flew missions until January1970 and were flown byPortugueseex-military pilots. ", Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, pictured here in June 1968, was a charismatic figure, Nigerian troops seen in one of Biafra's main cities, Port Harcourt, in 1968 after fierce fighting, Hunger caused the deaths of many people during the conflict, When the war started, there was not a single weapon anywhere throughout Biafra. Lambert Ihenacho, is known as a brilliant and resourceful officer in the Nigerian Army. New Nigerian newspaper page, 7January 1970. Protests were held around the world and Bruce Mayrock, a student at Columbia University, set himself on fire at the United Nations headquarters in New York to protest the war in Biafra. The currency of Biafra had been the Nigerian pound until the Bank of Biafra started printing out its own notes, the Biafran pound. You must clear the enemy from Obinze in 24 hours or submit your resignation from the army.". An estimated 2,000 demonstrators presented the French ambassador with a letter protesting French assistance to Biafra. It also had 2 separate brigades, the S Brigade, a Pretorian guard for General Ojukwu,[6] and the 4th Commando Brigade (trained and commanded by mercenaries). Nigeria became an independent country on October 1, 1960. He talks about his experience with international humanitarian law and the ICRC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. They undertook this dangerous task without carrying weapons. January 15, 1966: A group of army majors, led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna, execute Nigeria's first military coup which ended the First Republic. The Republic of Biafra had come to an end. In addition, the federal governments policy of giving 20 pounds to Igbos with bank savings, irrespective of what they owned before the war, left some impoverished. [6] After the surrender of Biafra, some Igbos who had fled the conflict returned to their properties but were unable to claim them back from new occupants. The operation was aimed at pushing the enemy at Nkwok as far back towards Opobo as possible and also threaten or take Opobo if possible. [35]A special guerrilla unit, the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters, was established, designed to emulate the insurrectionist guerilla forces of theViet Congin theAmerican Vietnamese War, targeting Nigerian Federal Army supply lines and forcing them to shift forces to internal security efforts. Nigerian leader Maj. Gen. Yakubu Gowon accepted the Biafran surrender and asked all Nigerians to greet the former rebels as brothers. The deaths of more than a million people in Nigeria as a result of the brutal civil war which ended exactly 50 years ago are a scar on the nation's history. Soon afterwards, the Biafran battalion captured Umuabayi, together with the enemy ammunition and food dump located there. Biafran Air Force commanders were Chude Sokey and later Godwin Ezeilo, who had trained with the Royal Canadian Air Force. They feel aggrieved that the Nigerian government has not adequately addressed the civil war and its aftermath. As a young officer, he commanded the Biafran 54 Brigade stationed at Onitsha. In an attempt to stave off ethnic conflict, Nigerias Mid-West region was created in 1963 by dividing the Western region. After returning to Nigeria, the federal government reneged on the agreement and unilaterally declared the creation of several new states including some that gerrymandered the Igbos in Biafra. Aba falls on September 1 and Okigwe freed on . Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. We who are about to die, salute you. [28], The FMG attacked Biafra on 6July 1967. Her worry lifted when she learned that her boss had escaped in his private jet, and was granted asylum by Ivory Coast, a francophone country. [10], Early modern maps of Africa from the 15th to the 19th centuries, drawn from accounts written by explorers and travellers, show references to Biafra, Biafra,[11][12] and Biafares. Copyright 2020. Initially, the final offensive was neutralised by Biafran troops. France provided weapons to Biafra, while the U.K. and the Soviet Union sent arms to the federal government. [68][69][70]Many reports has it that BNYL is linked to the Southern Cameroons separatists, although the group confirms this, it denies involvements in violent activities in the region. [31]Along with Igbo, there were a variety of other minority languages, includingEfik,Ogoni,Ijaw,Annang,Ibibio,Idoma,Igala, and others. His death was confirmed by his. As a Biafran soldier, he commanded the Biafran 63 Brigade in the Owerri sector. The Biafran Armed Forces ( BAF) were the military of the secessionist state of Biafra which existed from 1967 until 1970. But at some point, the Nigerian army invaded Oguta, leading a blockade and preventing relief materials from getting into Biafra, and as a result, hundreds of people died of starvation. As he told me himself in 2007, If a true and complete account of the civil war on the Biafran side is to be rendered, I (Eze) Madiebo and Ojukwu are the three people who can sit down together and jointly write such a book. [3] A special guerrilla unit, the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters, was established: designed to emulate the Viet Cong, they targeted Nigerian supply lines, forcing them to shift resources to internal security efforts. Westerners especially resented the political domination of the Northern Peoples Congress, many of whose candidates ran unopposed in the election.