Ohanaeze Demands Apology From FG After IBB Reveals Sh*cking Truth About 1966 Coup

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leading Igbo socio-cultural organization, has called for an end to all forms of hostility, cruelty, and deep-rooted animosity towards the Igbo people in Nigeria, following the revelation by former military leader General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) that the January 1966 coup was not an Igbo-led uprising.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The group also demanded a formal apology from President Bola Tinubu on behalf of the government, past military leaders, and particularly General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), for the suffering endured by the Igbos over the years.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy President General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze emphasized that it was time to end the false narrative that the Igbo people are opposed to Nigeria’s progress.

Isiguzoro stressed that the erroneous labeling of the 1966 coup as an Igbo-led action has had devastating effects, fueling hatred and ethnic targeting against the Igbo community in the country.

Ohanaeze therefore commended IBB for his “bold and historic assertion” that the January 1966 coup was, without a doubt, not an Igbo-led coup.

This position came after IBB revealed that it was Major John Obienu, an Igbo officer, who played a key role in quelling the coup. Babangida shared this in his book, A Journey In Service, where he explained that the ethnic characterization of the coup as an Igbo plot stemmed from the killing of the Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and his wife, Hafsatu.

Following this revelation, Ohanaeze has now called for an apology from President Tinubu and the Nigerian government for the prolonged trauma suffered by the Igbo people.

The group stated that an official apology from the president would pave the way for national reconciliation and foster unity in the country.

“This courageous acknowledgment marks a significant step in changing the unjust narrative that has painted the Igbo people as antagonistic to Nigeria’s progress. It signals an end to the entrenched bitterness, cruelty, and animosity that has plagued the Igbo nation for the past five decades,” Ohanaeze said.

During his recent book launch, General Babangida clarified the 1966 coup and explicitly excluded the Igbo people from the unfounded label of being “enemies of the North.” While this acknowledgment may have come late, Ohanaeze emphasized that the mischaracterization of the January 1966 coup as an Igbo-led insurrection had far-reaching consequences, including the July 1966 counter-coup, violent uprisings against Igbo citizens in the north, and the tragic Biafra War, in which over three million Igbos, mostly women and children, lost their lives.