Former Niger Delta warlord, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo says Biafra belongs to the Ijaw nation and not the Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
He asserted that an Ijaw man coined the name, adding that the entity called Biafra encapsulates Ijaw land and parts of Ibibio and Oron.
Asari-Dokubi, who led the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force (NDPSF), spoke Wednesday during an interview monitored in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
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“Ijaws are divided between the Bight of Benin and Bight of Biafra. We are the owners of Biafra. Biafra is an Ijaw name. The territory identified as Ijaw is Biafra with parts of Ibiobio and Oron. The real Biafra, the geographical location of Biafra is Ijaw. Then in 1967, the Eastern Consultative Assembly was convened in Enugu and then Frank Opigo, an Ijaw man, moved the motion that Biafra should be adopted as the name and it was accepted. And on May 30, the Republic of Biafra was declared which included the eastern region within our territory, so Biafra has nothing with Igbo,” Asari-Dokubo said.
He explained that a prominent Ijaw son, Isaac Adaka-Boro used the word “Biafra” in his book, the 12-day Revolution, long before the Republic of Biafra became a thing.
The ex-warlord dared anyone with a contrary historical fact to challenge his assertions.