‘Don’t Blame Me for the Igbo Pogrom’ — Gowon Defends Actions During 1966 Crisis

Former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has defended his role during the 1966 anti-Igbo violence in Northern Nigeria, maintaining that he took concrete steps to stop the killings and restore order.

Writing in his autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, Gowon dismissed suggestions that he remained passive while Easterners were attacked in the North following the July 1966 counter-coup.

He said:

“Some of my accusers have also suggested that I did not do enough to prevent the killing of Easterners in the North in 1966 and 1967. They also alleged that the federal government did not even try to bring the perpetrators to book after the sad occurrences. This position is not only wrong and full of mischief.”

Gowon explained that reports aired by Radio Dahomey alleging mass killings of Northerners in the East sparked widespread reprisals against Easterners in Northern cities, including Kano.

To contain the unrest, he said he addressed the nation through a series of broadcasts in English and Hausa, urging calm and appealing for an end to the violence.

The former Head of State rejected claims that Northern leaders instigated the attacks, arguing that the killings were largely carried out by angry mobs reacting to reports circulating at the time.

Recalling the period, Gowon said news of attacks on Igbo civilians deeply disturbed him, prompting direct interventions with military units and regional leaders.

“I told them that our mission was to protect every Nigerian and that the nonsense about wasting compatriots must stop,” he wrote, adding that he threatened disciplinary action against soldiers involved in unlawful killings.

Gowon said his administration worked tirelessly with traditional rulers, military commanders and political leaders to stop the carnage, stressing that preserving peace and Nigeria’s unity remained his overriding objective during the crisis that later descended into civil war.

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