The Federal Government is set to make a formal reconciliation declaration over the 1967 Asaba Massacre, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has said.
Oborevwori, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Kingsley Emu, disclosed this on Wednesday during the 59th anniversary memorial of the massacre in Asaba.
He said official acknowledgement of the tragedy was necessary for reconciliation, noting that the Delta State Government had already recognised the killings.
“Delta State has acknowledged the tragedy. Nigeria will acknowledge it, and we believe the world will also acknowledge it,” he said.
The governor also pledged the state government’s support for efforts to secure national recognition of the massacre and establish a national memorial.
The Asaba Massacre occurred in October 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, when federal troops entered Asaba in pursuit of retreating Biafran forces. At least 1,000 civilians were killed over several days, according to research by historians S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli.
Oborevwori said remembering the tragedy was not an attack on Nigeria, but a way of ensuring that similar violence never happens again.
“Never again should ethnicity, suspicion, or political conflict become a licence for the killing of innocent people,” he said.
The Asagba of Asaba, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, said the community had forgiven but would not forget the massacre. He, however, insisted that a sitting President must publicly apologize to the people of Asaba for the community to achieve full closure.
The memorial also featured an apology from retired Major-General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo, son of the late Major Ibrahim Taiwo, an Army officer associated with the events.
Taiwo said he had researched his father’s role in the massacre before deciding to apologize to the people of Asaba.
“I cannot change what happened, but I believe and pray that this gesture can be a step towards reconciliation,” he said.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a recorded message, described the massacre as one of the most painful episodes of the Civil War and urged Nigerians to embrace forgiveness.
The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, also called for truth, justice, restoration, and healing, saying forgiveness should follow those steps.
Meanwhile, Emu said the proposed memorial center would preserve the names, testimonies, and records of victims for future generations.
He said reconciliation should be about forgiveness rather than revenge, adding that the people of Asaba had endured the consequences of the massacre and emerged stronger.
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