Asaba Mass Genocides of 1967: Shall Murtala Ever Be Forgiven?

Emeka Esogbue


Murtala Ramat Mohammed (1938-1976) represents the greatest tragedies that befell Ndi Ngbo during the civil war. The ill-trained and undisciplined failed Nigerian soldier sought to annihilate the Ibo-speaking parts of the then Mid-west and completely remove the communities from the world map.

He left no stone unturned as he swept every one of the communities one after the other dishing them with genocidal gifts, the first that the African continent ever witnessed. Incredibly, the Federal Government of Nigeria would unquestionably immortalize his soul with infamous appearance in the nation's 20 naira currency, something unexpected of any government sensitive to the cause of the citizenry.

The impossibility to recount his contributions to the development of the nation because none exists must be admitted. It is also incredible that the true Nigerian society that forbids military sortie in politics would celebrate such a military leader whose reign was so short that nothing could be written of his contributions. There is nothing that exposes sentiments as much as history and this is what times gone by have done to Murtala teaching us that only unexplained sentiments have promoted because but for death in the hand of Dimka, Murtala would have remained unknown character in the history of Nigerian leadership.

By January 1966, the British truly interested in monetary gains arising from the exploitation of Nigeria had prepared Yakabu Gowon, Murtala Muhammed, Theophilus Danjuma, Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo and indeed the northern region.

The utmost aim of the British was that its better gains were derivable from one Nigeria, marginalization or no marginalization of other ethnic groups. The British thus goaded the northerners against other ethnic groups with unsolicited political supports which hastened the civil war of 1967. It was the announcement issued by the British in the BBC medium that first gave the northerners a weedy idea that the Nzeogwu coup was Igbo motivated. And the north understood this, the battle line was drawn between the North and Eastern region in which millions of people lost their lives.

It was this battle that gave birth to Murtala, a "Local champion" called Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo of the Nigerian Army. Africans first had the practical experience of the word "genocide" in Igbodo where hundreds of lives were lost in the Nigerian civil war. In Isheagu, the case was not different. It was here that the ulterior motive of the Nigerian troop clearly unfolded.

The people were now scampering for the safety of their lives having experienced what happened in Igbodo and some other places. In the Midwestern region, able bodied men went into hiding leaving women and children at the mercy of advancing soldiers. The people of Benin went identifying their Ibo-speaking neighbours from house to house for executions.


The Federal troop led by Murtala Muhammed arrived at the Asaba Division, power drunk with an aim to annihilate the people and return to Lagos with the blood of the people in his hands. Murtala hoped that the voices of the people would not be heard again.


Chief Philip Asiodu in his speech "How Mid-western Ibos Suffered During Civil war", October 20, 2009 recounts that "Earlier on the 5th and 6th following the conquest of Asaba by the Federal Army from the rebel or Biafran forces after the last stand by the latter around. St. Patrick's college area, dozens of civilians were apprehended and shot".

In another article written by Obi Nwakanma titled "Revisiting the Asaba Massacre" a mention is made on how victims were ordered to dance at the town square before men were separated from women and killed. The horrendous crime carried out human beings provokes the mind and prepares the people of Nigeria on what lies ahead of any region of the country but nothing provokes the mind more than to learn that the killings conducted by Murtala and Ibrahim Taiwo group were supervised.

Ifeanyi Uraih was specific when he added that Col Taiwo Ibrahim ordered everyone to come to the town square, that it was time to dance around town and join their brotherens.  The innocent people did as they were told thinking it was a victory party. At that point Col Taiwo Ibrahim honestly told them that they were to be killed, took them to a mounted machine and wasted them. Uraih survived because he was buffered by bodies that were shot around him and also on top of him.

Although Emma Okocha has relayed much of the Asaba massacre in his book "Blood on the Niger" but words cannot adequately capture genocides that occurred within the Asaba Division as supervised by Murtala, Ibrahim Taiwo and Ibrahim Haruna. Murtala's killer squad advanced Ibusa, a community about 6 miles from Asaba.

The group left the town having satisfied itself with war crimes while leaving behind emotional accounts. The killings in Ibusa took a new dimension when mass rape of ladies was added to it. It was so terrible and horrendous that the tragedy originated swear in the dialect of the people "Soldier La Gbue". Meaning "May soldiers rape you to death" this form of bad language is still use today.

Those who got hint of the impending advancement of the Federal Army and what happened in nearby Asaba fled for their dear lives to Mgbotukpe, thick forest located in the town. 

When the soldiers left the community for Ogwashi-Uku another nearby community what was left were faces inside the St. Augustine's Catholic Church, Ibusa with bodies littering the town. Even then, the soldiers acting on orders made sure that few or no houses remained firm to its foundation in the town. Such was the impunity with which they sent souls to the world beyond. In fact, collapsed houses are still testimonies of the vapid wrecking of lives and properties in the town.

With the genocides in Asaba and Ibusa especially, the people of Ogwashi-Uku had known the fate of what was to befall them in advance. Surprisingly, one is unsure for the reason behind the horrendous magnitude of what befall the community even though the people were living testimonies of the fate of Igbodo, Isheagu, Asaba and Ibusa. The story is that worse fate than Ibusa befell Ogwashi-Uku and mass graves in the town testifies to this.

Interestingly, Yakubu Gowon, the man who was the military Head of State at the time has on two different occassions apologized to the people of Asaba. The last apology was tendered at Asaba Township Stadium, venue of his "Nigeria Prays" rally. He tendered apology for the mass killing of their kinsmen pointing out that he did not approve the killings.

He further stated "It came to me as a shock when I came to know of the unfortunate happenings that happened to the sons and daughters of this state especially of this (Asaba) domain. I felt very touched and honestly I referred to it (killings) and ask for forgiveness being the one who was in charge that time.

Certainly, it is not something I would have approved of in whatsoever. I was ignorant of it, I think until it appeared in the papers. A young man wrote a book at that time" (Austin Ogwuda, Gowon Faults Setting up of Oputa Panel, Monday, December 9, 2002.

The interesting question is if Gowon was ignorant of the genocides that swept the Ibo-speaking communities including Owerri, who ordered the gruesome exercise? It is very unfortunate that Gowon as a leader failed to set up an enquiry into what really happened at least as at the time he read it in the papers. This is where the arrow of guilt points to Murtala Muhammed the leader of the troop, Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo.

Major-Gen. Haruna Ibrahim, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Two division of the Army during the civil war testifying for the Arewa Consultative Forum at the Oputa Panel on Tuesday, 9th October 2001 said he had no regrets for the Asaba massacre of Igbo in which his troop killed 500 men.

He maintained that whatever action he or his troop took during the war was motivated by a sense of duty to to protect the unity of Nigeria. To this end heconcluded that he had no regrets over the massacres at Asaba, Owerri and Ameke-Item. This baffled the Ohaneze group.

These tragedies are rarely acknowledged by the Nigerian Government which has entirely swept the massacres under the carpet. This makes memories of the tragedy hazy but the oral history of the people has continued to prevail. While the people are hoping that the acknowledgement of the deaths of their loved ones and sacrileges carried out in the communities with permanent memorials to their loved ones would bring measure of justice.

Professors of History and Anthropology from the University of South Florida in cooperation with USF Libraries Holocaust & Genocide Studies Centre are attempting to document and memorize the mass killings that took place in Asaba region more than 40 years ago but it will just be wiser and more result oriented if the study center include other areas such as Igbodo, Isheagu, Ogwashi-Uku, Ibusa, Owerri, Ameke-Item were such genocides also took place.