The right to self-determination under international law: The current Biafra struggle

Abstract

The struggle for the right to self-determination for the actualization of Biafra State by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in the Nigerian State through legal and diplomatic means has continued to gather momentum from various fronts with the involvement of elders and statesmen from the enclave. Ironically, these pro-Biafra groups have one target: To achieve an independent Biafran Nation. This paper examines whether this is realisable by looking at salient provisions of municipal laws and international conventions governing the right to self-determination. The study also seeks to know whether the Biafra method are in tandem with the struggles for the right to self-determination by other Peoples in other States and how some of these were actualized.

Keywords: The right to self-determination, Biafra, People, De-colonisation, Referendum