Republic of Benin (1967) Republic of Benin (1967) The Republic of Benin was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in West Africa which existed for one day in 1967. It was established on 19 September 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War as a puppet state of Biafra, following its occupation of Nigeria's Mid-Western Region, and named after its capital, Benin City, with Albert Nwazu Okonkwo as its head of government. The new state was an attempt by Biafra to prevent non-Igbo residents of the neighboring Mid-Western Region from siding with Nigeria following regional ethnic tensions early in the war. The Republic of Benin was officially
Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra in Anambra state arrested no fewer than 25 MOSSAB members who were marking their 16th anniversary; one MASSOB member was shot. At St Charles Lwanga Catholic Church Okpoko,18 members were arrested and one shot and at Iba Pope Catholic Church, while at Awada, 11 members of MASSOB were arrested. At Awka, two MASSOB were arrested by the police according to the MASSOB former Deputy Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha On May 31, 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan, a Niger Deltan Ijaw from Bayelsa State and from the South-South geopolitical zone, branded MASSOB to be one of three extremist groups threatening