Wani karin magana na Igbo, wanda Chinua Achebe (marubuci na farko da ya fara buga littafin shi mai suna ‘Things Fall Apart’) yana cewa, “mutumin da bai san inda ruwan sama ya fara bugun shi ba, ba zai iya fadin inda ya bushe jikin shi ba, bari mu bincika abin da ya haifar da yakin basasa.
Gwamnatin tarayya a Legas a wancan lokaci na mulkin soja ne wanda ya hau mulki a shekarar 1966 bayan wani kazamin juyin mulki da aka zubar da jini. A lokacin juyin mulkin da kuma bayan wannan juyin mulkin, yankunan arewa da yammacin kasar sun yi kaca-kaca da wani bam inda aka kashe dubban yan kabilar Igbo mazauna yankin.
1966 pogrom anti-Igbo, wani jerin kisan kiyashi da aka yi wa kabilar Ibo da sauran mutanen kudancin Najeriya mazauna arewacin Najeriya tun daga watan Mayun 1966 har ya kai ga kololuwa bayan 29 ga Satumba 1966.
Ganin ballewar yankin gabas, Gowon yayi gaggawar raunata goyon bayan yankin, inda ya ba da umarnin kafa sabbin jihohi goma sha biyu da za su maye gurbin yankunan hudu. Ƙarshen yaƙin ya zo a watan Janairun 1970.
A cikin littattafan tarihin Najeriya, wancan lokaci tsakanin 1966 zuwa 1970 ana kiran shi Yaƙin Bassa na Najeriya ko Yaƙin Najeriya da Biyafara.
A ranar 30 ga Mayu, 1967, Kanar Ojukwu ya ayyana jamhuriyar Biafra ba tare da wani bangare ba.
Bayan shekaru biyu da rabi ana gwabzawa da yunwa, da ya zamana an yi asarar yakin, Ojukwu ya hakikance ya bar kasar don gudun kisa.
A ranar 9 ga Janairun 1970, Ojukwu mika mulki ga kwamandan shi na biyu, Philip Effiong, ya gudu zuwa Ivory Coast.
