Nigeria’s ex-Biafra leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu dies

The former leader of the Nigerian breakaway state of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has died in the UK after a long illness, aged 78.

Colonel Ojukwu’s declaration of a secessionist state after seeing thousands of his people being slaughtered in 1967 sparked the Nigerian civil war, in which more than a million people died. 

He remained a prominent figure in Nigerian politics, running twice as a presidential candidate in the 2000s.

A spokesman in Anambra state said he had been ill after suffering a stroke.

Colonel Ojukwu went into exile after the Biafrans surrendered in 1970, returning more than a decade later after he was officially pardoned.

In a statement, President Goodluck Jonathan praised Colonel Ojukwu for his “immense love for his people, justice, equity and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war.”