The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on President Bola Tinubu to apologise to the Igbo people and pay ₦10 trillion in compensation over the fallout from the 1966 coup and the Nigeria-Biafra War.
This demand came after former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, revealed at the launch of his book, *A Journey in Service*, that the 1966 coup was not an Igbo coup, as widely alleged.
In a statement on Sunday in Abakaliki, the Deputy National President of Ohanaeze, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said the apology and compensation were necessary due to the loss of about three million Igbo lives — mostly women and children — during the war.
He said, “The mislabeling of the January 1966 coup has unleashed disastrous repercussions upon the Igbo people, most tragically culminating in the July 1966 counter-coup, which decimated a military Head of State of Igbo descent.”
He added, “The staggering loss of life, with approximately three million Igbos — predominantly innocent women and children — slaughtered during this conflict, continues to reverberate through our collective consciousness.”
Ohanaeze stressed that despite the end of the Biafra war, the Igbo still face marginalisation, including limited state representation, economic neglect, and a lack of functional international airports in the Southeast.
The group insisted that Tinubu must offer a public apology on behalf of past military regimes, especially the one led by General Yakubu Gowon.
Isiguzoro said, “The present Federal Government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must recognise this moment as an opportunity to extend a public and unequivocal apology on behalf of previous military regimes.”
On the ₦10 trillion demand, he explained that the figure was not random but symbolised the heavy losses suffered by the Igbo over the years.
“Our demand for ten trillion naira in reparations remains steadfast. This figure is not arbitrary but a symbolic recognition of the indelible losses the Igbo people have endured,” he said.
The group also thanked Babangida for clarifying that the 1966 coup was not an Igbo coup, calling his revelation a crucial step towards justice and reconciliation.
Ohanaeze urged the Federal Government to acknowledge these historical wrongs and take steps to address them.
