BIAFRAN secessionist campaigners have suffered a major setback in their bid to gain international acceptance after the US and UK recently pointed out that they will not recognise Biafran passports as legitimate travel documents.



Since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power, there has been a concerted campaign in southeast Nigeria to resurrect the defunct Republic if Biafra that briefly existed between July 1967 and January 1970. Following the arrest of Radio Biafra director Nnamdi Kanu last year, these calls have intensified, with huge rallies being held across Igboland.



Secessionist campaigners have taken their cause international too, holding demonstrations in Europe and North America and had been hoping to get some sympathy from Western nations. However, over the weekend, campaigners got a big disappointment when the US and UK said they would not accept Biafran passports as genuine travel documents.



Issued by the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob), the Biafran passports cost N5,000 (£17.31) while its renewal costs N2,000 (£7). Sunny Okereafor, Massob's director of information, said two weeks ago that the passport was valid worldwide as a legitimate travel document.



Mr Okereafor said: “I assure you that the Biafran passport is valid. Except Nigeria, other countries of the world accept Biafran passports and allow our citizens to travel with it.



"In Europe, North and South America, Biafran passport is accepted and Nigeria is the only country that seizes Biafran passports. Go to neighbouring Ghana and they will stamp the passport for you, so don’t be confused by the propaganda of the Nigerian government that there is nothing like a Biafra passport."



He appealed to all Biafran supporters to procure their passport and use it to travel, adding that when they get to Europe they will welcome just like anybody else. According to Mr Okereafor, many people holding Nigerian passports have been repatriated but so far, nobody with a Biafran passport has received such treatment.



However, Frank Sellin, the deputy public affairs officer at the American consulate in Lagos, said: “The United States does not consider passports purporting to be from a Biafra entity to be a valid legal document for purposes of visa issuance.”



Joe Abuku, the spokesman for the British high commission in Abuja, added: “The answer is unequivocally no, the UK does not recognise the so-called Biafran passport. The position of the UK government during the Biafran War is a matter of historical record as the UK government’s position, which reflected the charter of the Organisation of African Unity, was to recognise the borders laid down at independence.



“The Biafran War caused great suffering and the UK supported the reconciliation work that followed the conflict. The UK supports the territorial integrity of Nigeria and the Nigerian government’s commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all Nigerians.”



It is not yet clear how much Massob has raised from the sale of the new passports or if it will now return all monies collected as the document is useless to those who purchased it. Also, it is not yet clear if the Nigerian government will charge those behind the scam with collective money under false pretences.



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