Date: February 23, 1966.
On February 23, 1966, Isaac Adaka Boro, a former Nigerian police officer and student activist, led an armed rebellion in the Niger Delta, declaring the secession of the Niger Delta Republic from Nigeria. The movement, known as the Twelve-Day Revolution, was a direct response to the perceived marginalization of the Ijaw people and the exploitation of the region’s oil resources without sufficient local benefit.
Boro, alongside his Niger Delta Volunteer Force—a small but determined militia—launched a guerrilla-style insurgency against the Nigerian government. His forces engaged in skirmishes with the federal authorities in an attempt to take control of key areas within the oil-rich Niger Delta.
However, the secessionist movement was swiftly crushed. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the then-military governor of the Eastern Region, led Nigerian forces in a counter-offensive. Within twelve days, the rebellion was subdued, and Boro, along with many of his fighters, was arrested. Reports suggest that 159 men were killed during the conflict.
Following his capture, Boro was tried for treason and sentenced to death, though he was later granted amnesty by General Yakubu Gowon in 1967. Interestingly, Boro went on to fight for Nigeria during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), joining federal forces against Ojukwu’s own secessionist movement, Biafra.
Boro’s short-lived republic remains a significant historical moment in the struggle for Niger Delta autonomy, influencing later movements such as the Niger Delta militancy of the 2000s.
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