Biafra: Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari faces criticism for backing Western Sahara

Pro-Biafra protest Abia state — Pro-Biafra supporters shout slogans in Aba during a protest calling for the release of leader Nnamdi Kanu in November 2015 Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari is facing mounting criticism by pro-Biafran secessionist groups over his support for the independence fight of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara.

Pro-Biafrans demand the independence of Biafran territories forcibly annexed to Nigeria during British colonisation, which ended in 1960. Supporters of the breakaway were angered after Buhari said, in March, that Nigeria would help ensure independence and self-determination for people in Western Sahara.

SADR's fight for independence

In 1958, Spain merged the colonised districts of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Or to form Spanish Sahara, modern-day Western Sahara. Spain faced a tribal uprising by the indigenous Sahrawi people, which culminated in the creation of the Polisario Front rebel movement in 1973.

Spain controlled Spanish Sahara until 1975 when it signed, together with Morocco and Mauritania, the Madrid Agreement, which aimed to end Spanish rule in the territory. According to the agreement, which has not been recognised by the United Nations, Morocco took over Saguia El Hamra while Mauritania took control of Rio De Oro.

Originally created to fight against Spanish colonisation, the Polisario Front then waged a war against Mauritania and Morocco and, in 1976, created SADR, a partially recognised state that controls a strip of land in Western Sahara. SADR demands sovereignity of the whole country,

In 1976 Mauritania withdrew from the territories and the armed conflict continued between the Polisario Front and Morocco until 1991, when both parties reached a ceasefire.

In 2005, a new wave of unrest dubbed "Independence Intifada" rocked the Moroccan-controlled areas of Western Sahara. Series of deadly protests also erupted in 2010 and 2011.

Today, SADR controls between 20 and 25% of Western Sahara amid international efforts to promote a peace process in the country.

A Biafran Republic was established in 1967 and re-annexed to Nigeria in 1970, following a civil war that claimed between one and three million lives. Pro-Biafrans, who are routinely holding demonstrations across south-eastern Nigeria calling for independence and the realease of one of their leaders, Nnamdi Kanu, accused the president of being a hypocrite.

Wrong comparison

Following mounting criticism, presidential media aide Garba Shehu told the New Telegraph that a comparison between Western Sahara and Biafra was wrong.

"For anybody to make a comparison between Western Sahara and Biafra, that is a display of knowledge deficit in international politics. One, Western Sahara is a classic case of decolonisation. It is the last remaining colony on the African continent and we all owe it a duty to ourselves to liberate Western Sahara," he said.

"In fact, as military Head of State, President Buhari was the first to recognise Western Sahara and then the rest of Africa followed. So, he is being consistent. But Biafra is for the dismemberment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is already a settled entity. These two scenarios are clearly different."

Shehu also added that those who support the secession of Biafra "have not read Nigeria's history" and the issue has already been settled.

Allegations of violence

The Nigerian government has always maintained that Nigeria's unity is a priority for the country and that, although peaceful pro-Biafran protests are welcome, demanding the breakaway of the Biafran territories is against the constitution.

Pro-Biafran activists often claim Nigerian army and police open fire on "unarmed" and "peaceful" protesters. Amnesty International confirmed to IBTimes UK that Nigerian security forces had used excessive force against pro-Biafran protesters on some occasions but the army and police have denied allegations of violence.

Nigeria up close: Check out our Flipboard magazine

Join the Discussion