The insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria is a military conflict that broke out in the city of Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria on 16 January 2021, when the Nigerian Army moved to crush the paramilitary wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The conflict escalated after the ESN managed to repulse the initial push by the Nigerian Army, but IPOB ended the initial crisis by unilaterally withdrawing the ESN from Orlu. After a few weeks of quiet, Nigeria launched a military offensive in the area to destroy the ESN. On 19 February 2021, IPOB declared that as of the day before, a state of war existed between Nigeria and Biafra. Three weeks later, another separatist group declared the formation of a Biafran interim government which was subsequently endorsed by IPOB. Since then, the Biafran separatists have begun to form alliances with other separatist groups in Nigeria and Cameroon. Despite these developments, the separatists claimed that their militant operations were mainly aimed at defending local communities from armed herders and bandits instead of fighting the Nigerian government. In late June, IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by Interpol and handed over to Nigerian authorities.
Background
In 1967, separatists in Nigeria's southeast declared the formation of the independent state of Biafra. The subsequent Nigerian Civil War lasted two and a half years, led to over a million dead, and ended with the defeat of Biafra. Over the following decades, Nigeria continued to suffer from regional instability and revolts, but Biafra separatism was mostly dormant until the 2000s. Some Niger Delta communities such as the Ijaw people even integrated anti-Biafran sentiment into their own popular narratives, as they had mostly sided with the central government during the Nigerian Civil War.
From the 1990s, a growing number of people in southeastern Nigeria such as Igbo and Niger Delta natives felt marginalized by the Nigerian central government. This resulted in the violent conflict in the Niger Delta, and previously anti-Biafran communities such as Ijaw began to reevaluate their commitment to Nigeria. Coupled with disaffection among the youth due to high unemployment, this contributed to a resurgence of Biafran nationalism in the entire southeast. While most of the local political leadership distanced themselves from separatism, radical Biafran nationalists organized in the secessionist group IPOB. Other hardline Biafran groups included the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the Biafra Nations League (BNL; initially known as Biafra Nations Youth League / BNYL), and the Biafran National Guard (BNG). The latter already declared war on the Nigerian Army in 2017.
At the same time, Nigerians became disaffected as the central government failed to suppress the destructive Boko Haram insurgency as well as banditry in the north, while the Nigerian security forces faced accusations of corruption, ineffectiveness, and abuse. Journalists Cai Nebe and Muhammad Bello argued that "swathes of Nigeria remain near-ungovernable" as of Muhammadu Buhari's second presidency. Tensions in the southeast continued to rise after the local economy, heavily dependent on exporting oil, suffered under worldwide low oil prices. By 2020, IPOB had managed to rally substantial following to its cause, although polls showcased that Biafran separatism was not widely supported in the southeast. Non-IPOB groups also began to support separatism such as the Niger Delta People's Salvation Force led by "warlord" Asari-Dokubo. However, there were tensions within the Biafran separatist movement, with Kanu having been accused of intolerance toward non-Jews. The IPOB leader self-identifies as Jew and claims that Judaism is the Igbo's traditional religion.
In August 2020, Nigerian police forces went to an IPOB meeting in Enugu and executed 21 unarmed IPOB members with two police officers dead. Both sides accused the other of firing the first shot. Following the incident, IPOB pledged to retaliate and called on its members to start practicing self-defense. In late-September, at least two Nigerian soldiers were killed during clashes with unidentified gunmen in Enugu; however, IPOB denied any involvement, announcing that "we are not armed and have no plans to pick up arms."
On 12 December 2020, Kanu announced the formation of the ESN to protect Igbos against Fulani raiders. Unwilling to countenance the formation of a non-state-sanctioned paramilitary organization on its territory, the Nigerian government deployed the army to locate ESN camps two weeks later.
The Orlu Crisis (16–28 January 2021)
On 16 January, Nigerian police attacked the ESN in their camp. However, the attack was repulsed by the militia. On 22 January 2021, Nigerian soldiers invaded Orlu to search for ESN operatives. Eight buildings were burnt and one person was killed in the ensuing events. Security forces re-invaded the area three days later, clashing with the ESN and killing at least five people before being repulsed by the ESN. Four Nigerian soldiers were killed in the fighting. The Nigerian Army withdrew, and in the following days, Nigerian Air Force planes and helicopters were deployed to search for ESN operatives in and around Orlu.
On 28 January, more than 400 Nigerian soldiers were deployed to oust the ESN and the authorities declared a curfew which was brutally enforced. The curfew and the anticipation of imminent heavy fighting caused civilians to flee the city en masse. Later on the same day, Nnamdi Kanu declared a unilateral ceasefire and ordered the ESN withdraw from Orlu to focus on Fulani raiders instead. Kanu claimed that this decision was based on intelligence information that revealed that the army and the police had agreed to withdraw from Orlu also.
Interlude
During the fighting, police officers of the Imo State Police were caught on video flogging civilians, possibly as punishment for curfew violations. After the ceasefire, at least ten police officers were arrested, and Commissioner of Police Nasiru Mohammed condemned their behavior.
Days after the Orlu Crisis, IPOB gave all the governors of southeast Nigeria 14 days to ban open grazing, threatening to deploy the ESN to enforce a ban if the authorities did not do so. However, the ESN did not wait 14 days; a few days later, ESN operatives attacked a Fulani camp in Isuikwuato, Abia State, killing their livestock and burning down their houses. Following the raid, some governors responded by heeding the ESN's call and banning open grazing.
Renewed fighting and declaration of war (18 February 2021–present)
At some point in mid-February, the Nigerian Army 34 Artillery Brigade launched an operation to find ESN camps around Orlu and Orsu. The Nigerian Army also reinforced Orlu, deploying military helicopters to the city. Hostilities were renewed on 18 February, when the Nigerian Army and the ESN fought a gun battle in the forest outside Orlu while the Nigerian Air Force conducted air strikes in the area. A day into the fighting, the confrontation had spread to Ihiala, Anambra State. Nigerian forces captured an ESN base in the village of Udah outside Orsu on 21 February. The Nigerian Army 82 division also arrested 20 suspected IPOB members and confiscated their weapons.
The same day as hostilities were renewed, IPOB said that the military deployment constituted a "declaration of war against the Igbos" and accused the Nigerian government of planning a "final solution to the Biafran question". The group declared that Nigeria had "crossed the line of no return" and that Igbos now had no choice but defend themselves. The next day, IPOB declared that the "second Nigeria/Biafra war" had begun on 18 February, and that unlike in the 1967–1970 Nigerian Civil War, Biafra would win.
Spillover and escalation
Within a few days, the danger of spillover into other parts of the former East Region became evident. In response to the Nigerian military operation in and around Orlu, the Biafra Nations League threatened to attack all oil installations in Bakassi. In Aguata, Anambra State, suspected Biafran separatists killed four policemen at a checkpoint and took off with their weapons on 24 February. Another four policemen were killed in Calabar the next day. On 26 February, a police station was attacked in Aboh Mbaise, Imo State. On 3 March, gunmen killed two policemen in Cross River State.
The attacks were condemned by the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra. MASSOB also condemned Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma for inviting the Nigerian Army.
Local authorities blamed the ESN and IPOB for many attacks on police stations, some of which preceded the Orlu Crisis. The Police Commissioner of Delta State alleged that IPOB elements had crossed the Niger River to infiltrate the state. To prevent such infiltrations, the Nigerian Navy started patrolling the river. In early March, IPOB threatened to deploy the ESN to Benue State to protect Igbos against Fulani raiders; this came after the killings of IPOB activists by armed Fulani. Days later, Nnamdi Kanu declared that the ESN had captured a prominent Fulani bandit leader named Mohammed Isa in Benue State.
In mid-March, the leader of the Niger Delta People's Salvation Force, Asari-Dokubo, declared the formation of the Biafra Customary Government (BCG). The BCG was intended as the first step of establishing a de facto government for an independent State of Biafra. Dokubo stated that Biafra would not go to war, but that it would go through with secession from Nigeria. IPOB soon threw its support behind the BCG, declaring that it would support any Biafran independence movement. A few days later, the MASSOB led by Ralph Uwazuruike, endorsed the BCG. However, Asari-Dokubo and Nnamdi Kanu had previously quarrelled with each other, and the rivalry continued after the BCG's formation, especially after some IPOB leaders had officially switched allegiance to the BCG. Internationally, IPOB gained the support of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), an Ambazonian separatist movement led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and with its own armed wing, the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF). In April, IPOB and AGovC moved towards a formal alliance. This move was not unprecedented, as the BNL/BNYL had already openly aligned itself with Ambazonian separatists in 2017.
While separatist movements formed a unified front, militants escalated the war. Soon after the formation of the BCG, the BNL declared that it had taken control over "creeks and bushes" in the Bakassi Peninsula, and threatened to hijack any oil vessels coming from there. On 19 March, gunmen attacked a prison and a police station in Ekwulobia, releasing several prisoners and killing two policemen and two prison officials, but failing to burn down the police station. IPOB denied any involvement.
On 15 March, the ESN invaded Eleme to expel Fulani herders. A week into the ESN offensive, Fulani raiders invaded Agbonchia and committed atrocities against the civilian population. On 5 April, armed men stormed a prison in Owerri, enabling some 1,800 inmates to escape. The Nigerian government blamed IPOB, which in turn denied any involvement. In mid-April, state governors announced the formation of Ebube Agu, a pro-government security network. IPOB declared that the ESN was sufficient, and alleged that the true purpose of Ebube Agu was to fight the ESN.
On 14 April, armed men launched several attacks in Njikoka and hoisted a Biafran flag. Before the attack, Nnamdi Kanu had accused the Nigerian government of plotting false-flag attacks to destroy the image of ESN. On 24 April, the top ESN commander known as Ikonso was killed when the Nigerian Army allegedly raided an ESN camp in Imo State. IPOB blamed governor Hope Uzodinma, as their intelligence stated he was killed in his house. After less than 24 hours, IPOB announced that a new top commander had been instated. In May, the Biafran National Guard (BNG), now headed by the so-called "Biafran Supreme Military Council of Administration" (BSMCA) which posed as high command of the restored Biafran Armed Forces, declared its intent to conquer southeastern Nigeria, starting with Anambra State.