The Federal Government is set to make a formal reconciliation declaration over the 1967 Asaba Massacre, Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has disclosed.
The Governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu, made this known on Wednesday at the 59th anniversary memorial of the massacre in Asaba, Delta State.
Hundreds of people were killed in Asaba during the Nigerian Civil War in 1967.
Oborevwori said official acknowledgement of the tragedy by the Federal Government was critical to achieving reconciliation, noting that the Delta State Government had already recognised the massacre.
He said, “An official acknowledgement by the respective governments is critical. Delta State has acknowledged the tragedy. Nigeria will acknowledge it, and we believe the world will also acknowledge it.”
The Governor expressed optimism that the Federal Government would make a formal reconciliation declaration, adding that the state would continue to support efforts to secure national recognition of the massacre and establish a fitting national memorial.
He stressed that remembering the tragedy was not an attack on Nigeria, but a call to ensure that such an incident never happened again.
The Asagba of Asaba, Professor Epiphany Azinge, said the community had forgiven but would not forget the massacre, insisting that a sitting President must publicly apologise before full closure could be achieved.
The memorial also witnessed an emotional apology from retired Major-General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo, son of late Major Ibrahim Taiwo, an Army officer associated with the events.
Taiwo said he had spent years researching his father’s role in the massacre before deciding to apologise to the people of Asaba.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a recorded message to the event, described the massacre as one of the most painful and disturbing aspects of the Nigerian Civil War and urged Nigerians to embrace forgiveness.
The Isama Ajie of Asaba and convener of the memorial, Chief Chuks Nduka-Eze, said the central message of the commemoration was that “Nigerian lives matter,” while questioning why the country had yet to fully explain the killing of civilians in Asaba.
