MEMORY LANE: HOW Isaac Adaka Boro Was Sentenced To Death For Fighting For Niger Delta Rights

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Isaac Adaka Boro was a Nigerian nationalist and military officer of Ijaw heritage, born on September 10, 1938, in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State.

He was a key figure in the fight for minority rights in Nigeria, particularly for the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta region.

Boro’s father, Pepple Boro, was a school headmaster, and Isaac was an excellent student. He attended Hussey College, Warri, and later studied Chemistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he became the Students’ Union Government President (1964-1965).

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Boro’s activism was sparked by the perceived marginalization and exploitation of the Niger Delta region, where oil was discovered in 1956.

He formed the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), an armed militia, and declared the Niger Delta Republic on February 23, 1966. The rebellion lasted 12 days before Boro and his associates were arrested and charged with treason.

Boro was sentenced to death but received amnesty from General Yakubu Gowon in May 1967, on the eve of the Nigerian Civil War.

He enlisted in the Nigerian Army and fought against Biafra, commanding a unit of about 1,000 men from Rivers State.

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Boro died under mysterious circumstances on May 9, 1968, near Okrika, Rivers State, at 29. His death is shrouded in controversy, with some attributing it to Colonel Benjamin Adekunle or Biafran soldiers.

Boro’s legacy is celebrated in the Niger Delta, inspiring future activists like Ken Saro-Wiwa. May 16 is dedicated to honoring his impact on Ijawland and the Niger Delta region.

Boro’s story is a testament to his courage and conviction, highlighting the ongoing struggles for resource control and self-determination in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. Would you like more details?

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Reno Omokri wrote this about Isaac Adaka Boro:

“This was Isaac Adaka Boro on Tuesday, June 21, 1966, the day he was sentenced to death for treason by the government of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi for attempting to secede from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

His actions were declared illegal by the Military Governor of the Eastern Region, Lt. Col Emeka Ojukwu, who invited the Federal Government to help quell Boro’s separatists group, known as the Niger Delta Volunteer Force.

Unfortunately, or some may say, fortunately, just days before the sentence was to be carried out, the Ironsi government was overthrown on Friday, July 29, 1966.

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Nigeria did not collapse when Isaac Boro was sentenced to death for leading a separatist movement. It was not considered an injustice by the people of Nigeria then, and nobody threatened repercussions against either Ironsi or Nigeria as a result of Boro’s death sentence.

History does not repeat itself. People repeat history, then falsely accuse history of repeating itself!”

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