By Ayodele Oni

With families and relations in Asaba, Delta state, still counting their loses to the Nigeria civil war, former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, rtd, has

revealed that the Asaba massacre was caused by Biafran soldiers, that blown off the Eastern part of Onitsha bridge.

Offering a fresh account about the Asaba massacre during the civil war, which occurred on October 5-7 1967 in Asaba, Gen Gowon stated that the Onitsha bridge was blown off to prevent the Nigerian Army from gaining entry to the East.

The fresh revelations, contained in Gowon’s autobiography, ‘My Life of Duty & Allegiance’, have offered rare personal insights into the rivalries, battlefield mistakes and political tensions that shaped the 1967–1970 civil war.

According to Gowon, “The massacre was a deadly onslaught perpetrated by the Nigerian Army, specifically the Second Infantry Division under the command of Murtala Muhammed targeted the people of Asaba, mostly Igbo people.

“In August 1967, three months into the Biafran War, Biafran troops invaded the Mid-Western Region, to the west of the River Niger.

“They spread west, taking Benin City and reaching as far as Ore, where they were pushed back by the Nigerian Second Division, under the command of Col. Murtala Muhammed.

“The Federal troops gained the upper hand, and forced the Biafrans back to the Niger, where they crossed the bridge back into the Biafran city of Onitsha, which lies directly across from Asaba.

“The Biafrans blew up the eastern spans of the Onitsha bridge, so that the Federal troops were unable to pursue them.

“Angry over the blow up of the Onitsha bridge by the Biafran soldiers, the Federal troops entered Asaba around October 5, and began ransacking houses and killing civilians, claiming they were Biafran sympathisers.

“Several hundred innocent males may have been killed individually and in groups at various locations in the town.

“At a point, leaders of the community summoned the townspeople to assemble on the morning of October 7, hoping to end the violence through a show of support for ‘One Nigeria.’

“Hundreds of men, women, and children, many wearing the ceremonial akwa ocha (white) attire paraded along the main street, singing, dancing, and chanting “One Nigeria.”

“At a junction, men and teenage boys were separated from women and young children, and gathered in an open square at Ogbe-Osowa village.

“At that point, federal troops were said to have brought out machine guns, and orders were given, reportedly by Second-in-Command, Major Ibrahim Taiwo, to open fire, killing many till 7 October.

“The bodies of some victims were retrieved by family members and buried at home. But most were buried in mass graves, without appropriate ceremony. Many extended families lost dozens of men and boys.

“Federal troops occupied Asaba for many months, during which time most of the town was destroyed, many women and girls were raped or forcibly ‘married,’ and large numbers of citizens fled, often not returning until the war ended in 1970.”

By Ayodele Oni 

Reactions have been trailing “My Life of Duty and Allegiance,” a memoir of the former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon, especially the aspect which dealt into the Nigeria’s civil war.

The Chairman of the Forum of Former Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly and former Southeast spokesman to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,  Josef Onoh, has faulted comments by former Head of State, on the 1967 Aburi Accord and the origins of the Nigerian Civil War.

According to him, the remarks by Gen Gowon amounts to reopening old historical wounds.

He described the publication as “one-sided memoirs issued when the other principal can no longer respond.”

In a statement made available to journalists, Onoh rejected Gowon’s narrative which he said portrayed the late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as responsible for the collapse of peace efforts following the January 4–5, 1967 meeting in Aburi, Ghana.

According to him, such interpretation “unfairly casts Gowon as the reasonable unifier while depicting Ojukwu as intransigent.

”The atmosphere was cordial, with both leaders actively participating. Upon his return, Ojukwu publicly broadcast the accords and adopted the position ‘On Aburi We Stand,’ Onoh stated.

He argued that the breakdown began after Gowon’s return to Lagos, where he reportedly faced pressure from federal officials who viewed the agreements as a drift toward confederation.

According to Onoh, “This led to the issuance of Decree No. 8 in March 1967, which Ojukwu and the Eastern Region viewed as a dilution and mockery of the Aburi spirit — particularly regarding emergency powers, military control, and the balance between the regions and the federal centre.”

He further noted that “Ojukwu warned that non-implementation of the accord would leave the East with no choice but ‘self-help.’

 Historical records, including declassified documents and eyewitness accounts such as Prince Akenzua’s memos, support the position that the federal side backtracked on core understandings reached in Ghana.”

Onoh insisted that Ojukwu attended the Aburi talks in good faith and did not frustrate peace efforts, stressing that the failure stemmed largely from “divergent interpretations and the federal government’s reluctance to implement a looser federation” in the aftermath of the 1966 killings and rising mistrust.

Recalling Ojukwu’s frustration, he quoted him as describing the situation as: “my friend Gowon turned bandit,” a reaction he said reflected deep disillusionment following the massacres of Easterners and the breakdown of trust.

He added that this view was also reflected in accounts by Philip Effiong and documented in Ojukwu’s memoir, Because I Am Involved.

While acknowledging Gowon as an elder statesman, particularly for his post-war reconciliation policy of “No Victor, No Vanquished,” Onoh warned against reopening old historical wounds.

“A true statesman prioritises national healing over vindication, especially on wounds that are still healing slowly more than 50 years later,” he said.

He further observed that while Ojukwu extensively documented his position during his lifetime, Gowon’s more recent public reflections risked reinterpreting events without the possibility of rebuttal.

Onoh urged Nigerians to rely on “documentary evidence, tape recordings of the Aburi proceedings, contemporary broadcasts, and balanced scholarship, rather than one-sided memoirs issued when the other principal can no longer respond.”

“History thrives on truth that unites, not narratives that divide. Let us learn from Aburi’s failure: genuine dialogue and faithful implementation matter far more than signed agreements in an atmosphere of mistrust,” he said.

For the records, Onoh is a sibling of Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, wife of the Late Biafran Leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.