Democracy, separatist agitation and militarised state response in South East Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT This briefing revisits the dynamics of post-civil-war agitation for a separate state arising from Nigerian state repression in Africa’s largest democracy. It analyses uncertainties among many Nigerians in the south-east of the country and focuses on the recent experience of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group agitating for a republic of Biafra. It argues for a more democratic order that legitimises equality and social justice as organising principles of democracy.