Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB of violence; MASSOB's leader, Ralph Uwazuruike, was arrested in 2005 and detained on treason charges; he was released in 2007. MASSOB also championed the release of oil militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who faced similar charges at the time. In 2009, MASSOB launched "the Biafran International Passport" in response to persistent demand by Biafrans in the diaspora. MASSOB agitates for a Republic of Biafra comprising the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria; though Uwazuruike has stated in interviews that the Niger Deltans "can have their own republic." The group's philosophy is hinged on the principle of non-violence as propagated by Mahatma
Bight of Biafra the new state lost the ensuing Nigerian Civil War. In 1975, by decree, the Nigerian government changed the name of the Bight of Biafra to the Bight of Bonny. Bight of Biafra The Bight of Biafra (also known as the Bight of Bonny) is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. The Bight of Biafra, or Mafra (named after the town Mafra in southern Portugal), between Capes Formosa and Lopez, is the most eastern part of the Gulf of Guinea; it contains the islands Fernando Poo [Equatorial Guinea], Prince’s and St