A post in a public Facebook group with more than 94,600 members claims that former military head of state Yakubu Gowon admitted that Britain urged him to start the Nigerian Civil War in 1967.
The post states: “Just In: ‘I didn’t start the Biafra w*ar, but Britain asked me to because Igbo land was leading in technology and Quantum City … Even during the war, without foreign help, the Igbos would have overpowered the whole of Nigeria within a month,’ Gowon opens up.”
The claim can also be found here and here.
Gowon served as Nigeria’s military head of state from 1966 to 1975. He led the country during the civil war, which began after the eastern region declared independence as the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967.
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The war ended in January 1970, with an estimated death toll ranging between 500,000 and 3 million. The Biafrans were predominantly from the Igbo ethnic group.
On February 20, 2025, Gowon attended the launch of *A Journey in Service*, a book written by former Nigerian military head of state Ibrahim Babangida, who ruled from 1985 to 1993.
Babangida’s autobiography has sparked debates on historical events such as the 1966 coups, the civil war, and the annulled 1993 presidential election.
Following the book’s launch, some Nigerians have called on Gowon to share his perspective on these events or publish a memoir.
But has the 90-year-old accused Nigeria’s coloniser Britain of directing him to start the civil war? We checked.
No evidence of the claim
At the book launch, Gowon reflected on his long-standing friendship with Babangida but did not address the civil war.
There is no evidence to support the claim attributed to him in the Facebook post, nor has any credible media outlet reported such a statement.
If Gowon had accused Britain of instigating the civil war, it is unlikely that both local and international media would have overlooked it.
The claim is false.
The false claim was also posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Credit: Africa Check
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