a journalist unprofessional, self-fulfilling prophecy which would lead the Northern elite to assume that the Financial Times was in possession of information that they were not aware of, and that the world expected the North to react in this way. Later tactics were engineered by Northern elites to provoke violence such as fabricated news stories submitted to radio Cotonou and relayed by the Hausa service of the BBC detailing exaggerated attacks against Northerners in the East, which led to the furious killings of Eastern Nigerians on 29 September 1966. According to British newspaper reports at the time, about 30,000 Igbo were killed in September 1966, while more conservative estimates put the casualties at between ten and thirty thousand for that month. This spree of killings carried on into early October and was carried out by civilians sometimes aided by army troops and swept the entire north. It has been described as the most painful and provocative incident leading to the Nigeria-Biafra War. Aftermath The pogroms led to the mass movement of Igbo and other Eastern Nigerians back to Eastern Nigeria (it is estimated that more than one million Igbos returned to the eastern region). It also was the precursor to Ojukwu's declaration of Eastern Nigeria's secession from the federation as the Republic of Biafra, and the resulting Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), which the Nigerian government declared as no victor, no vanquish. See also Anti-Igbo sentiment Igbo culture Sabon Gari Asaba massacre Bibliography Agbiboa, D. (2013). Ethno-religious Conflicts and the Elusive Quest for National Identity in Nigeria. Journal of Black Studies, 44(1), pp. 3–30. Anthony, D. (2014). ‘Ours is a war of survival’: Biafra, Nigeria and arguments about genocide, 1966–70. Journal of Genocide Research, 16(2–3), pp. 205–225 Aro, G. & Ani, K. (2017). A Historical Review of Igbo Nationalism in the Nigerian Political Space. Journal of African Union Studies, 6(2/3), pp. 47–77. Omenka, N. (2010). Blaming The Gods: Christian Religious Propaganda In The Nigeria—Biafra War. The Journal of African History, 51(3), pp. 367–389. References External links No regrets for the Asaba massacre of Igbo -Haruna 2002 Statement from "Women of Biafra" Genocide is Totally Indefensible by Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe The Northern Counter-Coup Of 1966: The Full Story by Max Siollun Mass murder in 1966 Igbo society Ethnic riots 1966 in Nigeria Pogroms 1966 riots 1960s massacres in Nigeria Racism in Africa 1966 murders in Nigeria Genocides in Africa History of Northern Nigeria