The Biafra Zionist Front (BZF), formerly known as the Biafra Zionist Movement[1] and also known as the Biafra Zionists Federation,[2] is a group agitating for the restoration of Biafra and its independence from Nigeria. It is led by Benjamin Onwuka. The movement's purpose is the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra along precolonial lines.
The group claims to be supported by Israel and the United States and explicitly relates its cause to the Zionist movement.[3]
History edit
The group was formerly part of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra but was split off in 2010 by British-Nigerian lawyer Benjamin Onwuka.[4][5] The group "re-declared the independence of Biafra" on 5 November 2012, for which Onwuka and 100 others were arrested and charged with treason but granted bail;[1] the charges against Onwuka were later dismissed for lack of evidence.[6] The group was responsible for the 2014 Enugu Government House attack on March 7, 2014, and was behind an attack on a State Broadcasting Service office a few months later.[6]
Onwuka was arrested in 2014 but was released three years later. He immediately returned to leading the BZF.[6]
In June 2017 the group proclaimed the independence of Biafra with Onwuka as president.[7]
On 20 March 2018, Benjamin Onwuka was again arrested along with 20 other BZF members after they publicly announced their intention to occupy the Enugu Government House, raise the Biafran flag, and declare the independence of Biafra.[2]
Fifty-two members of the Biafra Zionist Front, including Onwuka, were arrested on 30 May 2023 in Enugu, allegedly while marching to raise the flag of Biafra inside the Enugu Government House. One member was shot and killed by police during the demonstration.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b "Nigeria's Biafran Separatist Upsurge". Crisis Group. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ a b Country Policy and Information Note: Nigeria: Biafran separatists (Report). Ministry of Justice (UK). April 2020. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ "The Sun Still Rises: Neo-Biafran Secessionism, Zionism, and the Question of Nigeria". Brown Political Review. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ "The Biafra Zionist Movement - The Nation Newspaper". 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ "Nigeria's Biafran Separatist Upsurge". Crisis Group. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ a b c "After three years in custody, freed agitator vows to declare Biafra". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ "Pro-Biafra group, BZF, announces 'interim cabinet' members". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ Duruiheoma, Damian (2023-06-01). "52 Biafra agitators remanded for attempting to hoist flag in Enugu Govt House". The Nation (Nigeria). Retrieved 2024-03-17.
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