On the heels of a pogrom of Eastern Nigerians (predominantly Igbos) in the Northern Region of Nigeria in 1966, and an unsuccessful attempt at Mediation in Aburi, Ghana, the Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Colonel Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, after consultation with the representatives of the peoples of the Region, declared the Region an independent nation, Biafra. The declaration of the Republic of Biafra led to a 30-month brutal civil war which claimed over 2 million lives in Biafra. Most of these victims were children who died from hunger, disease, and bombardment. Many were flown abroad to Gabon for safety, but after the cessation of hostilities, most of them were never returned to their families

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