Alleged threat by US President Donald Trump to grant Igbos Biafra

A Facebook post claimed that US President Donald Trump had vowed to liberate the Igbos from NigeriaHe was re-elected in late 2024 and assumed office as the 47th president of America on January 20, 2025A fact-checking platform investigated the viral claim that Trump promised to make Biafra independentLegit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 4 years of experience in fact-checking and global affairs.

Awka, Anambra state – On February 11, 2025, a Facebook user, Olivercan Ezeigwe, posted a video with a caption claiming Donald Trump, the incumbent US president, has started making moves to address the secessionist movement of the Igbos in Nigeria.

Igbo nationalism became a strong political and social force after the Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970. The movement has grown more militant since the 1990s, calling for the independence of the Biafran people and the establishment of their state.

A video online claims US President Donald Trump is backing the yearslong Biafra agitation.
Photo credits: Win McNamee, SOPA Images
Source: Getty ImagesEzeigwe wrote:

“The current president of the United States, Donald Trump, has now decided to look into the Biafra in Nigeria so they can be independent.” In the clip, Trump could be heard saying that he would turn to Nigeria for the liberation of the Igbos after he was done interfering in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The poster claimed the US president had stated:

“These people have suffered in the hands of the northern Muslim-dominated folks who continue ripping the natural resources of southern Nigeria, mainly the people of the United States of Biafra and Nnamdi Kanu. The Biafran leader should be released immediately.”Since it was posted, the video has garnered 458,000 views, over 200 reactions, and more than 600 comments, with some users believing the ‘news’.

Against this backdrop, a fact-checking platform, Dubawa probed the claim.

The media platform stated that it subjected the video to Deepware, a video analysis tool, and the results showed that the clip was 82% altered.

Therefore, it concluded that the viral video of Trump promising to make Biafra independent was manipulated to paint a false narrative.

Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) protest in South Africa.
Photo credit: Michele Spatari
Source: Getty ImagesRead more on Biafra:

Simon Ekpa: Nigerian Army provides major update on move to extradite Biafra separatist leaderBiafra: Enugu governor briefs Tinubu on IPOB’s sit-at-home, video surfacesFact-check on Biafra forces’ alleged killingEarlier, Legit.ng checked if there was evidence for the viral claim on the alleged soldiers’ killing by Biafra forces in Abia state.

A Google reverse image search was done as well as a check on the official website of the Nigerian army to determine if this was true. It showed no evidence of the claim.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

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Source: Legit.ng