The Nigerian troops had entered Asaba on the 4th day of October 1967, in pursuit of Biafran soldiers who had earlier crossed Ore after taking Benin and dislodging Nigerian troops there.
But because the Biafran soldiers had blown up the Niger bridge to make it impossible for the Nigerian side to pursue them, Nigerian soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Murtala Muhammed simply settled in Asaba..
They started going from house-to-house killing the people of the town who were accused of aiding the Biafran soldiers.
On the 7th day of October, after the house-to-house killing had gone on for days, the leaders of the town, in a bid to convince the Nigerian troops of their loyalty and support, summoned their people to come out on the streets.
But because the Biafran soldiers had blown up the Niger bridge to make it impossible for the Nigerian side to pursue them, Nigerian soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Murtala Muhammed simply settled in Asaba..
They started going from house-to-house killing the people of the town who were accused of aiding the Biafran soldiers.
On the 7th day of October, after the house-to-house killing had gone on for days, the leaders of the town, in a bid to convince the Nigerian troops of their loyalty and support, summoned their people to come out on the streets.
Hundreds of men, women, and children obeyed the summon and came out, mostly dressed in ceremonial white attire, singing, dancing, and chanting "One Nigeria". But the moment they got to the Ogbe-Osawa village square where the Nigerian troops were gathered, the soldiers separated the men and boys of 12 years and above from the women.
Orders were shouted. The guns were raised. The men and boys were showered with bullets, cut down in their prime. At the end of the bullet festival, more than 700 of them lay lifeless.
There were dead bodies everywhere.
Most of them were later buried in a mass grave while the Nigerian troops still occupied the town, hunting down men and boys who escaped the October 7 massacre, and r#ping and forcefully “marrying” off women and young girls.
Ironically, those who led this massacre rose to become national heroes, with monuments named after them, and beautiful stories told about them.
However, for the Asaba people, the horrific and traumatic experience of the October 7 massacre still haunts them, even in silence, to this day
Most of them were later buried in a mass grave while the Nigerian troops still occupied the town, hunting down men and boys who escaped the October 7 massacre, and r#ping and forcefully “marrying” off women and young girls.
Ironically, those who led this massacre rose to become national heroes, with monuments named after them, and beautiful stories told about them.
However, for the Asaba people, the horrific and traumatic experience of the October 7 massacre still haunts them, even in silence, to this day
This is one of the reason Obasanjo and his goons obliterated history from the school curriculum in order to hide the many war crimes of the Nigerian government.
ReplyDeleteAhaba massacre was a great genocide that can't be forgotten in the Nigerian history.
Do you now see what is happening to the ancestral homes of the likes of Gowon and Theophilus Danjuma who championed that genocide? Their people are being massacred by the Fulani marauders and they're crying for mercy and help. The same mercy and help their kinsmen denied other people.
Do Nigeria ever had a hero? I don't think they do. These are all corrupt, evil minded and blood thirsty vampires that ever graced the corridors of power.
So when people recite the national anthem and say, 'the labour of our heroes past' I keep looking out to see and understand the heroic nature of these persons and I shake my head in utter disgust.
Until reparations are being made, Nigeria will keep suffering from all the innocent bloods they shed.
Even the 3 R's couldn't be implemented.
© TEEJAY.
π―
DeleteVery sad,may their souls rest in peace,ozoemena....
ReplyDeleteThis story broke my heartππππππππππππππππππππ
DeleteOh my God!!! I cried so much reading this. May God heals the hearts of those affected
ReplyDeleteThis is genocide. This has been haunting Gowon especially now that his own people are feeling a bit of what he ordered for his "enemies" then.
ReplyDeleteHorrific! There is no single saint among these politicians and rulers. Isn't it clear why they scrapped History from their curriculum? May the souls of the innocent continue to rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteI recently spoke to a survivor, he watched his father and all his uncles go down.
ReplyDeletehaa what kind of traumatic experience is this OMG
DeleteI'm reading this for the first time in my life. What!!! π©π©π©
ReplyDeleteIn a normal society, the man Gowon should have been in jail.
Me too Osundi
DeleteIt is very sad.
Now the Muritala is even on our currency as a hero. May God judge them and their generations to come
Same here cant stop saying OMG
DeleteSame here
DeleteThis is heartbreaking πππππ
Gowon is a devil, it's people who don't know their history that perish! Muritala...hmmm that one was kukuma assasinated. You live by the sword & die by the sword!
DeleteAnytime I read about Biafra war, it saddens my heart because people died for nothing, sacrificed thier lives for nothing. Fighting for Nigeria isn't worth it because they never appreciate you, this has persisted until now. The killing of innocent lives, embezzlement of money budgetted for ammunition at the expense of young lives. I weep seriously, when a gallant officer is ready to work for the good of the Nation, they take his life. It is well with us Amen
ReplyDeleteIn my Form 5 secondary school, we were taught that Murtala Mohammed was a hero after he was assassinated on February 13, 1976. That was in my history class.
ReplyDeleteWe now know the truth. No wonder he died a miserable death. No wonder nobody remembers him and the date anymore. I’ve read more about this episode than the one published today. But thanks for the reminder. May the souls of those massacred in Asaba Rest In Peace. May the souls of Muritala Mohammed and the other perpetrators of this crime continue to Rot In Pieces.
Amen.
DeleteIt's quite sad.
Amenn
DeleteIt's precisely bcos of this,I tell people not to be too judgemental about d people of d rising sun.they carry around a lot of hurt and pain.they may not be dealing with it in d best way but the hurt is still there .may God help us forgive and forget
ReplyDeleteAhhh
ReplyDeleteGod..
What?? you say over 700 men? Jesus! *tears*
ReplyDeleteWhat a gory tale!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember my Uniben room mate then said her father was the only surviving son of his parents. All his 9 brothers were massacred.
ReplyDeleteNigeria don't have heros na why them call am HISTORY. It is someone's story and it can be laced with lies and fake heroism
That's why Fulanis are slaughtering them like fowls now. Forget the core north first, na the middle belt people own pain me pass. The hatred they had for Igbos eh, now they know who their real enemies are. Yoruba na story for another day. Snakes. Deadliest of the deadly.
ReplyDeleteEverybody go collect.
I have a problem with stories concerning the Civil War. Acts of violence are condemnable but the truth should always be told. A truth and reconciliation commission should be set up and perpetrators of violence should be identified. Atrocities committed by Biafran soldiers should be looked into. I heard they also committed sheer violence in the communities they occupied.
ReplyDeleteSir/Ma'am Binam,
DeleteGowon rushed and created states, to create division, but to the Biafrans it was still their territory during the war. Why do you think Asaba supported 'Biafra' at the time.
Please indicate the history books you read, by foreigners present in Biafra like Frederick Forsythe during, the war, and others, plus accounts by the supposed aggrieved parties Bα»afra occupied, so we read this thing you heard.
All my years, studying the Biafran war, and reading different accounts of it, this comment of yours is a first.
Were the Biafran soldiers killing people in hundreds,and thousands, raping children and women, tearing open the bellies of pregnant women and ripping the babies out while laughing, etc?
Please, pray do share this thing you heard, and where, so I can read it up.
Thank you!
Franky
Anon 16:22, my father was part of federal troops during the Civil War. He often told us about atrocities committed against Igbo civilians and Biafran prisoners of war. Igbo women and young girls were raped or forcibly married, POWs were summarily executed. These atrocities are well documented. He also told me that in certain parts of the Niger Delta liberated by the Nigerian army from Biafran control, locals recounted their ordeals in the hands of Biafran soldiers. People suspected of colluding with the Nigerian army were killed. People opposed to the annexation of their lands by Biafran soldiers were executed.
DeleteI would have posted links here but I don't think it's allowed. Both sides committed war crimes. The Nigerian army committed crimes on a larger scale, but it doesn't mean that the Biafran army didn't commit crimes.
Thank you Franky and Binam for the contributions. A little add up. The Nigerian Army at a time, disguised as Biafran Army by putting on inscribed Biafran uniform and unleashed mayhem to the people of the Niger Delta to further create disunity among the biafran people. That's what they're still doing till date.
Delete© TEEJAY
Ipob man! Just create your own story. Just like Ojukwu soldiers were carrying sugar can instead of gun up and down
Delete@ Binam
DeleteThank you for your response. Would have been swell to read the accounts.
Really @ Teejay? Please anywhere this was documented?
Franky
My God..war is something to be feared.. I've not even heard of this part of the war before. Terrible
ReplyDeleteOMG! Have never heard of Asaba massacre since growing up. Thanks for this Stella.
ReplyDeleteTo further deepen the matter, it is not exactly clear who among Murtala Mohammed, Ibrahim Taiwo or Ibrahim Haruna, commanders in that particular theater, gave the order.
ReplyDeleteThe people of the town, in efforts to try to show the Nigerian soldiers that they were believers in 'one Nigeria(curse that shit), held a massive dance rally that unfortunate day. The invading Nigerian army soldiers, circled them and separated every male from the group. The order was given. Reports state that as much as a thousand people may have been killed.
It is even more instructive to note that Ibrahim Haruna, who was called upon to give his testimony at the Justice Oputa panel during Obasanjo's presidency, proudly expressed absolutely no remorse regarding ordering the killings. Ibrahim Haruna is still very much alive. Ibrahim Taiwo has major roads named after him all across Nigeria. Muritala Mohammed, a fulani and the commanding officer in that theater of death, who must have approved the killings, has his image on our 20 naira note. No one was brought to account.
The British, marshalled the stifling of the genocide in the Western press.
It is also worth noting that the Nigerian army was seething from the huge losses Biafran troops had dealt them in defence of Asaba. They felt that the local population was firmly behind the Biafrans.
The people of Asaba ofcourse had no recourse but to welcome the Biafran army. Anyone who wasn't actively in support of the BA was tagged a saboteur and summarily executed. Yes, the BA army too killed people in the town before the skirmish the the NA.
In the end, Asaba was doomed either way.
God bless you. Biafran soldiers too killed people. Women and children alike. Westin carry biafran war enter Ore in Ondo state and Benin? Nonsense and ingredients.
DeleteThanks Stella for bringing these stories that schools have refused to share. Young Nigerians need to know these stories. Rwanda didn't pretend the horrible genocide didn't happen. Their acknowledging what happened is helping them heal.
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa was among them. From umuezei.
ReplyDeleteObi Ebenuwa continue to rest in peace. I never met you but papa and mama told us the story
Thank you SDK for this account, I have never heard of it before. May the souls of all the departed continue to rest in Peace
ReplyDeleteTalatu