<P> The Nigerian Civil War , commonly known as the Biafran War ( 6 July 1967 -- 15 January 1970 ) , was a war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra . Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people , whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern - dominated federal government . The conflict resulted from political , economic , ethnic , cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain 's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 . Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup , a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria . Control over the lucrative oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role . </P>
<P> The Nigerian Civil War , commonly known as the Biafran War ( 6 July 1967 -- 15 January 1970 ) , was a war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra . Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people , whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern - dominated federal government . The conflict resulted from political , economic , ethnic , cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain 's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 . Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup , a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria . Control over the lucrative oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role . </P>
what was the cause of the nigerian civil war
what was the cause of the nigerian civil war
a military coup a counter-coup persecution of Igbo
a military coup a counter-coup persecution of Igbo