Biafra Shillings and Pounds Banknotes

Biafra was officially known as the Republic of Biafra. This small country has an interesting story. It declared independence from Nigeria in 1967, but only existed for 3 years. The reason for Biafra’s attempt at independence was political and economic unrest between ethnic groups in Nigeria. The Hausa resented the Igbo minority for their success, and this resentment led to a massacre of the Igbo. Estimates say around 10,000-30,000 Igbo people were killed during this massacre, while around a million sought refuge in the Eastern region of Nigeria. Non-Igbo people were then removed from this Eastern region, and the head of the Eastern region, Biafra, declared independence from Nigeria. However, the leader of Nigeria refused to acknowledge Biafra as a separate state, and war broke out. Within the first year, Biafra became landlocked and lost all access to their seaports. This led to disease and starvation of around 500,000 to 3,000,000 people. Due to this, Biafra ceased to exist in January 1970.