To:
All Indigenous people of Biafra

I have observed the attitude of many Ibos and heard their comments on the Biafra Question and it has become necessary for me to write elaborately on the matter of confidence in the Biafra Struggle for Independence. Many have lost their confidence in the struggle and the attitudes of others are not helping the matter. When I hear the stories of sacrifices made by some people in the Struggle for Biafra Independence, I am humbled as I regard myself as a late comer to the Struggle. Nevertheless, this Struggle is like a Relay Race in Athletics where the first athlete hands over the batton to the next athlete until the final athlete who will reach the finishing line. I therefore encourage all the Biafran Activists (those who started the struggle at first and those who joined later) to uphold the vision of Biafran Emancipation without losing the steam. I would like to restore the confidence of the likes of Mazi Odera who said he had become skeptical about the Biafra Struggle. No doubt, there are many people like Mazi Odera who have been disappointed by what they experienced in this struggle. Some have experienced betrayals, insults, abuses, and heartbreaks caused by the same Igbo people they were trying to help. Most often, the people you are trying to save will not even want to be saved. Like the Israelites, some will remember the fish and cucumbers they ate in Egypt and would like to return to the house of bondage. Sometimes, one is tempted to abandon the Struggle because of the attitude of others. There will be some things that cause frustrations in the journey. This is the irony of the struggle. It is like the wilderness experience of the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land.

2. Perhaps I am the first Solicitor of England & Wales and Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to have identified openly with the Biafran Struggle for Independence. I became interested in the Biafra Question in 2004 following the question posed by the TELL Magazine in Nigeria: "BIAFRA OR PRESIDENCY- What do the Igbo want?" It was an interesting intellectual and practical question arising from the Sit-at-Home Order of MASSOB in August 2004. I was then the Spokesman of Igbo Lawyers Forum and I commenced a research work on that question. The following year, the Federal Government of Chief Obasanjo decided to arrest Ralph Uwazurike but made a camouflage order to arrest the leaders of the ethnic militias so that it would not appear that Ralph Uwazurike was the one solely targeted. The leaders of OPC (Dr Frederick Fasheun and Gani Adams) were arrested first. Then, Asari Dokubo of the NDVF was arrested next. Ralph Uwazurike was arrested last. All the militia leaders except Uwazurike were violent and unrepentant of violence. But the discrimination became clear when Chief Obasanjo released the OPC leaders from Yorubal tribe but left Uwazurike in prison. President Yar' Adua took over and released Asari Dokubo of the Ijaw tribe but left Uwazurike in prison. Oddly enough, no Igbo Leader or Igbo Group challenged the Federal Government in court for that discriminaltion.

3. Consequently, in my capacity as the then Public Relations Officer and Spokesman of Igbo Lawyers Forum, I brought a Motion dated 27th June 2007 on the floor of Igbo Lawyers General Council to rise in defence of Ralph Uwazuruike and all his MASSOB members. The Motion was debated and passed as a Policy Instrument of Igbo Lawyers and served personally on President Yar’Adua in Aso Rock, thus bringing Igbo Lawyers Forum into the battle with the Federal Government of Nigeria against injustice. Pursuant to this Motion, the Igbo Lawyers Forum briefed Chief (Dr.) Chimezie Ikeazor, S.A.N., to lead in the case, and sent me to Abuja and Keffi to solicit for the release of the MASSOB leader and his members from detention. I bore all the expenses of the journey for the 8 days I stayed in Abuja. When Ralph saw me, he embraced me and made a comment that this was the first time that Igbo People had come as a group to show their solidarity and support for him. He said that only two Ibos, Onyeagocha and Ziggy, his personal friends, had shown any sympathy for him before the Igbo Lawyers came as a group. It all sounded good but I never knew that we would be disappointed. It was in the Keffi Prison, Nasarawa State, that I had a meeting with Ralph Uwazuruike and the other MASSOB leaders for about 45 minutes regarding their hearts’ desire and intention in the struggle to actualize the Sovereign State of Biafra. I appeared with Chief Chimezie Ikeazor, SAN, and other Igbo lawyers who joined our team in the Federal High Court Abuja on Monday 16th July 2007 to solicit for Uwazuruike’s release. It was an opportunity the Igbo learned men had been waiting for to join issues with the Nigerian Government and re-open all other cases of injustice and discrimination against the Igbo people. The continued detention of Uwazuruike whose agitation was non-violent while the unrepentant violent activists from the Yoruba and Ijaw tribes had been released was sufficient evidence of discrimination and insult against the Igbo Nation for which the Igbo Lawyers arose to defend and protect the honour and integrity of the Igbo Nation.

4. The Judge granted an adjournment and directed us to file the necessary papers since we had just entered into the matter. However, as we were preparing to file the necessary documents, Ralph Uwazuruike and his co-accused MASSOB members wrote a letter to us and forwarded a copy to the court asking us not to appear in court again to represent them! We were actually embarrassed. We could not understand why Uwazuruike should dump us and shun Igbo Lawyers at the time the Judge was expecting us in court. Ralph Uwazurike's attitude turned off all the Igbo Lawyers who had come out for the Struggle. But I continued with the research work I commenced in 2004 to answer the question posed by TELL Magazine: BIAFRA OR PRESIDENCY- What do the Igbo want?
I have now concluded the research work that started 7 years ago and written a 300-page book that answered the question with verifiable statistics and evidence. The book is now awaiting publication.

5. In the meantime, the Biafrans from EKWE NCHE group instructed me to carry out researches and go through some documents on actionable wrongs and crimes committed by Nigerian Government against the Igbo people for which they would like to sue the Nigerian Government on behalf of the Igbo nation. When I finished the work and was ready to file the action in court, I asked for the name I would use as the Plaintiff/Claimant/Applicant for whom I would stand in court. Unfortunately, Ekwe Nche Organization was not registered as a legal entity in Nigeria and therefore could not sue Nigerian Government. It would have been an embarrassment for me in court if I had filed the case in the name of an entity not recognised by law. Ekwe Nche promised to give me the name of their sister organization registered in Nigeria in whose name the case would be filed. But the matter died as they did not give me the name of any pro-Biafra Group registered as a legal entity in Nigeria.

6. As God works in mysterious ways, few Biafrans in exile who heard about my activities in the Igbo Lawyers Forum contacted me and instructed me to act as their legal adviser and solicitor for the actualization of the Biafra Republic. I accepted the instruction but on coming into the matter I found many things that ought to have discouraged me and caused me to withdraw. The first problem was lack of organizational leadership and administrative controls. I thought of how difficult it would be for me to handle clients that were not organized. The next problem was lack of proper approach to the struggle as many Biafrans did not know what next to do. The last was general confusion with skepticism and loss of confidence as many people had turned the Biafran Struggle into an avenue to make money for themselves. I discovered that pro-Biafran Groups had multiplied into thousands and millions- all pursuing the same goal. The group that instructed me was not yet properly organized at that time but they were serious minded Biafrans in exile as I was told that some of them had never gone back to Biafraland since after the war.

7. Then I embarked upon the basic organizational structure formation starting with creating the legal frameworks for the struggle. They said their name was Biafra Liberation in Europe (BLIE) but I coined the name as BILIE to mean "ARISE" or "STAND UP" in Igbo language to make it a clarion call, using "BI" to stand for the first two alphabets in Biafra. I applied to the United Nations and registered it as a Civil Society Organization under the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to advocate for the rights of the indigenous people of Biafra. After due consultation with some UN officials, it became necessary to change the name so that it would not be confined only to Europe but to become the mouthpiece for all Biafrans in the United Nations. This was why the name was changed to Biafra Liberation in Exile (BILIE). The next thing I did was to register BILIE as a human rights organization with the Federal Government of Nigeria. This was why BILIE is registered as a legal entity in Nigeria as BILIE HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVE with power to sue and be sued, to defend and advocate for the rights of the indigenous people under the United Nations Charter and under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. The right of the indigenous people under the Laws of Nigeria is their right to self determination. I confirm that the members of BILIE who instructed me are the best people to work with as they are men of integrity in professional callings who are ready to take my legal advice and follow the legal approach I adopted. We have always walked as a team. I can confirm that none of them is in the struggle to make money. The few members of BILIE made all the sacrifices to get the Organization duly registered. Their sacrifices for the Biafra Cause are a challenge. I have seen some Biafrans who have sacrificed so much that their families disowned them for being poor and wretched for the sake of Biafra! Therefore, anybody who wants to donate to the Biafran Genocide Case Fund should not be afraid because the money will be duly accounted for. In fact, it is the requirement of the UN that BILIE must submit its audited accounts before it would be admitted into the Consultative Status of the United Nations ECOSOC. Thus, there is no room to avoid accountability in BILIE Organization.

8. At the moment, BILIE is taking a proper shape. Many lawyers are being attracted to the Biafra Struggle because it is now going into the legal dimension under international law to decide the issue of self determination and independence by the rule of law. In the United States of America, Attorney Paschal Ukpabi has taken up the assignment to gather the Biafrans together under BILIE. He is one of the lawyers who will represent BILIE in court. Other Igbo lawyers in Nigeria and Europe are also getting involved despite the previous experiences of disappointments in the hands of some pro-Biafra Groups. We still need more Igbo Lawyers to identify themselves with this Struggle. I have taken time to write this mail because of the need of the hour. As I have already said, this struggle is like a relay race in athletics. It follows the spiritual principle of the deliverance of a people as exemplified in the ministry of Moses who passed the batton to Joshua. The person who started the struggle may not be the person who will reach the finishing line. But in the end, all of us will win as a team. Each person will be rewarded by God according to the person's works.

9. I have noted and condemned the unguided utterrances of some Biafrans who rain insults and abuses on one another. I would like to remind those people that BILIE will discipline and expel any person who is not a fit and proper person to carry the Membership Certificate and Identity Card of BILIE. All indigenous people of Biafra are advised to be respectul to one another and obedient to all lawful authorities. No Biafran should insult or abuse the Government of Nigeria or any leader at all. If any Biafran disagrees with any policies of the Nigerian Government, he should make constructive criticisms on the issues and not attack personalities. The unresolved issues between Biafra and Nigeria shall be resolved in Court. This is the work for lawyers. I therefore encourage everyone who has been in this struggle not to give up now. Be courageous to make the history which others will read. The Independence of Biafra will neither be the first in modern history nor the last. It is a fact of history that nations rise and nations fall and the map of the world is redrawn from time to time. Biafra does not seek to destroy Nigeria but to be free. Egypt did not collapse when Israel left and became free. Ethiopia did not collapse when Eritrea left and became free. India did not collapse when Bangladesh left and became free. Therefore, Nigeria should not fear to let Biafrans go. We expect that the Nigerian Authorities will do the right thing when the matter comes for hearing in court. Nevertheless, even if Nigeria opposes our application, it means that both parties have joined issues for the Court to decide. We do not know how long it will take to go from one level of court to another on appeals, from national to international courts, but one thing is certain: The case will end one day.

10. I was touched to hear that many Biafrans who went on self exile after the war have not returned to Biafraland up to this day. They have got their families in many parts of the world and passed the Biafra Story to their children. Some have died leaving the children in foreign lands while others are still alive but old and about to die. Their children are looking forward to seeing the Land of the Rising Sun before their fathers die. The children taken to Gabon and Ivory Coast have grown and become adult nationals of Gabon and Ivory Coast. Though they do not speak Igbo language, they still know that they are Ibos. Truly, a great tragedy happened to the Igbo Nation and this is the time for our healing and deliverance. Please forward this mail to all Biafrans who are afraid, confused or skeptical, so that they may know that the time of their deliverance is near. Our legal argument is that what Biafra lost after the war was its sovereignty and not its people. Therefore by the rule of law, the remnants of the indigenous people of Biafra who were not consumed by the war are protected by law to exercise their right to self determination. They have fulfilled the scriptures as it is written: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed." (2 Cor. 4 : . Yes, they were cast down but not destroyed. Nobody should be ashamed or afraid to identify himself as a descendant of the indigenous people of Biafra who was not consumed by the war. At the moment, all Biafrans have been accorded Nigerian Citizenship but their indigenous tribal identity remains. It is just like the Scottish people who are British by Citizenship but retain their indigenous tribal identity as Scots. The Map of Biafra had been on the Map of the African Continent since the 15th Century before Nigeria was created in 1914. The book I have written tells the story of how the word "Biafra" came into existence.

The matter between Biafra and Nigeria will be decided in Court. The Ancient Map of Africa shall be produced in Court when the time comes. It is an offence and a crime against humanity to destroy the identity of a people. All Biafrans are advised to pray without ceasing until justice prevails. In my honour as Solicitor of England & Wales and BILIE Legal Adviser, I give a word of promise that BILIE will never fail if you are submissive and obedient to the leadership of BILIE without betraying the cause. Like Nehemiah and his brethren rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, let us work as one man and get the job done without further delay.

Please comfort one another with these words. You may forward this mail to other Biafrans in your mailing list.


Remain blessed


Emeka Adolf Chigozie Emeka, Esq (Pastor)
BILIE Legal Adviser
Solicitor of England & Wales
Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria

We haven't lost focus only few people chopping from the federal purse has. The struggle is very much alive and needs only a little awakening

gboss4sure: We haven't lost focus only few people chopping from the federal purse has. The struggle is very much alive and needs only a little awakening

We are in the sensitization and mobilization stage!
We need to spread the word, educate our people and motivate them.

We are not Nigerians but Biafrans!