A network of Nigerian separatists based outside the country is using social media to call for violence and incite ethnic hatred against opponents of Biafran independence, a BBC investigation has found.

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of violence

In a Facebook live broadcast to her more than 40,000 followers, Efe Uwanogho, also known as Omote Biafra, shouts hate speech directly into the camera.

The front of her leather jacket features a patch of the Biafran flag, with its red, black and green tricolour and half a rising sun.

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"Go after these mighty saboteurs… Those are the people that need to be beheaded. Those are the people that need to be burnt to ashes," she says.

She's calling for attacks against those considered enemies of the campaign for Biafran independence, which would create a breakaway state in south-east Nigeria.

The campaign has a bloody history.

In 1967 separatists from the mainly Igbo region declared independence for the Republic of Biafra. They fought and lost a three-year civil war against the Nigerian government in which more than a million died, mainly on the separatist side.

Biafran soldiers seen here inspecting a bomb during the Biafran conflict, 11th June 1968.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
The war ended in 1970 but the idea of Biafra lives on

More than half a century later, social media is a new frontline for those who are continuing the struggle.

Ms Uwanogho is among them. She's a so-called "media warrior" for the separatist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob).

She broadcasts from Italy, beyond the reach of Nigerian authorities. In Nigeria, Ipob has been banned and designated a terror group. Ipob insists it is a peaceful movement.

The BBC's investigation revealed many other influential Ipob supporters also operating outside the country, openly promoting disinformation and inciting violence on social media from across Europe, the US, Asia and other parts of Africa.

Nigerian investigative journalist Nicholas Ibekwe describes the group's online operation as an "organised troll farm".

"Social media has been Ipob's most successful tool in achieving most of what it wants to achieve today," he says.

Composite image of Nneka Igwenagu (left) and Efe Uwanogho (right)
Image caption,
Nneka Igwenagu (L) and Efe Uwanogho (R) broadcast from outside Nigeria

Some supporters of the group have as many as 100,000 followers on social media.

We don't know if any of Ms Uwanogho's followers took action based on her online calls for violence against officials in south-eastern Nigeria.

Ms Uwanogho did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

But on the ground, the violence is real, with dozens of officials killed in attacks already this year in violence described by President Muhammadu Buhari as "deeply distressing".

Nneka Igwenagu is another "media warrior" fighting for the Biafran cause, based in the UK.

In a Facebook live broadcast from London in late 2021, she targets a youth group in Anambra, south-east Nigeria, which had been resisting pressure from Ipob for people in the region to shut down businesses and schools in solidarity with the group's detained leader Nnamdi Kanu.

Nnamdi Kanu
IMAGE SOURCE,AFP
Image caption,
Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu has endorsed the activities of many "media warriors"

Mr Kanu is currently being held by Nigerian authorities and faces terror charges, which he denies.

Speaking in Igbo, the most widely spoken language in south-eastern Nigeria, Ms Igwenagu refers to them as "chickens", saying:

"All of you are not supposed to be alive… A chicken that ate its eggs, don't you see it is not supposed to live?"

A few weeks after the broadcast, the leader of the youth group she was referring to was shot and killed. Nobody has been charged over his death.

Flyer showing news of the death of Ogidi youth leader, with picture of him wearing a blue t shirt and text saying "exit of a hero"
Image caption,
Tributes were paid to the Ogidi youth leader online after his killing

We contacted Ms Igwenagu for a comment on this investigation, but received no response.

One of the ways the media warriors attempt to avoid censorship is to switch into local languages that are less well moderated.

This tactic is made explicit in one video we found. Okenna Okechukwu, also known as Biafran Child, speaks in Igbo when calling for the beheading of a critic, before switching to English and explaining to his followers:

"Why I am saying this in my dialect is because I don't want them to stop me. I don't want them to block me on this page."

David Ajikobi, Nigeria editor of fact-checking organisation Africa Check, says that the lack of moderation of extreme content in local languages is a major issue, not limited to Nigeria.

"We've also seen this in India, in Ethiopia, where crises are happening, people are using local language because they know that if they use English they will be flagged and will be removed from the platform."

Despite the violent nature of many of the online posts we found, moderation by social media platforms is inconsistent.

In line with Facebook's own process, our team reported broadcasts by Efe Uwanogho and Nneka Igwenagu for containing violent content. We initially received a notification that the platform had decided not to take the videos down.

It was only later, when the BBC shared links to the posts directly with Facebook that they were removed. But violent broadcasts from the same accounts, as well as others, remained online at the time of publication.

Stoking tension
Facebook's parent company Meta told us in a statement that calling for violence on its platform was unacceptable. It said that it had 15,000 people reviewing content in more than 70 languages - including Igbo.

Our investigation also found Ipob supporters spreading disinformation to stoke tension between different ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Media warriors pit ethnic Igbo people, who are mainly Christian and from the south, against those from the Fulani ethnic group, who are predominantly Muslim and from the north.

In another Facebook live broadcast, Ms Igwenagu warns her followers that Fulani herders and other northerners who have moved to "Biafraland" are on a "mission… to exterminate, kill maim, wipe [out] all of us".

Payment for posts
Although there have been clashes between Fulani herders and communities in the south-east, there is no evidence of the sort of conspiracy that Ms Igwenagu and others are alleging.

This violent rhetoric may be driven by a desire for Biafran independence, but our investigation also found evidence of financial incentives for those involved.

We found videos in which media warriors admitted to being paid, either by Ipob or by supporters, for the work they do and we saw other broadcasts in which bank details for Ipob were shared to solicit donations from followers.

Journalist Nicholas Ibekwe is among those who are critical of social media companies to tackle the violent threats being made on their platforms.

"It seems Facebook has really really gone to sleep. It does not think that these comments, these posts that they do on Facebook have consequences."

Audu M Linus (retired) and Private (Pte)Gloria Matthew
Image caption,
Audu Linus and Gloria Matthew were attacked on the way to their wedding

Meanwhile, attacks continue on the ground.

On 30 April, Nigerian soldiers Audu Linus and Gloria Matthew were on their way to get married in a traditional ceremony in Imo state when they were abducted, tortured and killed by unidentified attackers.

Footage showing the couple's killing, which the Nigerian president has blamed on Ipob, then went viral.

A conspiracy theory was then widely shared by some Ipob supporters claiming that the footage was not real and the soldiers' deaths had been staged.

The BBC has independently confirmed the deaths of the two soldiers with family members.

Ipob has denied any involvement in the killing.

We contacted Ipob's leadership with our findings from this investigation. The leadership replied, but did not provide a response.

We contacted all of the media warriors featured in this story to ask for their comments, but had no response


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61354014.amp

Actually, Nigerian government budgets more money for propaganda than they do for education. That's why ASUU is on strike foe many months now.

Na d once way de nija b mumu

BBC

What took you so long


They will flood your social media pages with so much hatred you will have no choice than to also designate them as a terrorist organisation....then deny it

IPOB Modus operandi is very wrong

BBC has finally done their Job


This is what BBC is Known for Super Investigative Journalism

There is nothing revealing here, it's already an open secret

IPOB terrorist bingos on the loose.


This will get the needed attention from UK government and others to recognise IPOB as a terrorist group.

Christistruth00:



BBC has finally done their Job


This is what BBC is Known for Super Investigative Journalism

yet they couldn't unravel those sponsoring the killings in the north

Wazobia2216:
Who take news from BBC seriously

Just pay them and they will tell the people what you want them to hear

BBC is just like the Nigerian NTA of the world

Someone said IPOB members are illiterates. I believe he is right.

Who paid BBC? They only reported what is open to everyone. IPOB terrorists will do live videos ordering killings. Is it BBC that made the video?

IPOB terrorists suffer from a mental disorder known as living in denial syndrome.

Wazobia2216:
Who take news from BBC seriously

Just pay them and they will tell the people what you want them to hear

BBC is just like the Nigerian NTA of the world

.

jmoore:

Someone said IPOB members are illiterates. I believe he is right.

Who paid BBC? They only reported what is open to everyone. IPOB terrorists will do live videos ordering killings. Is it BBC that made the video?

IPOB terrorists suffer from a mental disorder known as living in denial syndrome.

IPOB and their SYMPERTIZERS are iliterates

shortIGBOman:


IPOB and their SYMPERTIZERS are iliterates

Who are more illiterate than those who burned their fellow human for non existing being....

Nonsense media.

Nonsense British media working to protect it company called Nigeria.

Tranquillity360:
Nonsense British media working to protect it company called Nigeria.

una own don cast. D world don see una face and address, na ICC straight u dey go so. Nonsense cannibals and terrorists. shiorr

Nigerialabalaba:

una own don cast. D world don see una face and address, na ICC straight u dey go so. Nonsense cannibals and terrorists. shiorr

Cast in your figment of imagination, chronic unity beggar..

BBC is just so useless..

I listened to that documentary

And it's a complete thrash,they were clearly biased..

They Obtained a cut and joined tapes and posted for their zombie supporters to feed on.

Imagine BBC calling the killing of people in uzouwani a clash between Fulanis and indegens..how can people killed while sleeping clash with their killers?

I hope BBC are sued for that documentary..

They systematically avoided the part of python dance where the military were killing innocent protesters,the avoided the part were the Nigerian military were burning people's houses and shops..


In every action there must be equal reaction..


We must tell this story from the very beginning..

The media gang up and propaganda against ipob will and remains effort in futility..

God bless biafrans..

Smoke55:
BBC is just so useless..

I listened to that documentary

And it's a complete thrash,they were clearly biased..

They Obtained a cut and joined tapes and posted for their zombie supporters to feed on.

Imagine BBC calling the killing of people in uzouwani a clash between Fulanis and indegens..how can people killed while sleeping clash with their killers?

I hope BBC are sued for that documentary..

They systematically avoided the part of python dance where the military were killing innocent protesters,the avoided the part were the Nigerian military were burning people's houses and shops..


In every action there must be equal reaction..


We must tell this story from the very beginning..

The media gang up and propaganda against ipob will and remains effort in futility..

God bless biafrans..

It is nothing but paid propaganda by the Fulani Jihadist government...

Nothing is to start arresting their leaders in Europe and Asia. The one that pains me pass an ashawo from Edo ordering big men to be killed and slaughtered in igboland and some useless igbos will keep listening to her while Edo her state is free from the killings..

Emergingnation3:
It is nothing but paid propaganda by the Fulani Jihadist government...

As e don affect some People for East, e go soon reach your side.

The World is becoming more aware of ipob/esn terrorism.

Emergingnation3:
Who are more illiterate than those who burned their fellow human for non existing being....

Everybody has condemned the unfortunate mob killing.

Where has Ohaneze or any Igbo leadership condemned the rape, killings, beheading and roasting of innocent people by illiterate IPOB/ESN terrorists because of an existing albino?

BBC?

shortIGBOman:


As e don affect some People for East, e go soon reach your side.

you mean jihadist lots attacking me for their Imaginery creature...

ezenwajosh:
BBC?

It seems you are thirsty

shortIGBOman:


It seems you are thirsty

You can't comprehend more than your brain developed

ezenwajosh:
You can't comprehend more than your brain developed

You just described Nnamdi Kanu's People

Afonjakid:
Nothing is to start arresting their leaders in Europe and Asia. The one that pains me pass an ashawo from Edo ordering big men to be killed and slaughtered in igboland and some useless igbos will keep listening to her while Edo her state is free from the killings..

I thought I was the only one that noticed from her intonation. Na real Edo girl.

pineed:

I thought I was the only one that noticed from her intonation. Na real Edo girl.

Na confirm Edo and some igbo fools are taking orders from her to destroy their place.