Asaba Memorial Oral History Project
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Interviewer
S. Elizabeth Bird; Ottanelli, Fraser M.; Arinze, Emeka; Uraih, Ify
Publication Date
8-18-2010
Date
2009-12-13
Abstract
Oral history interview with Felix Ogosi, a survivor of the Asaba Massacre, a mass killing of civilians which occurred in 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War. The day of the massacre, the townspeople received messages asking them to come to the town square to dance and welcome the Nigerian troops. Ogosi, who was twelve years old at the time, was in the square watching and saw the soldiers setting up their machine guns. The men were separated from the women, and the soldiers began to shoot them. Ogosi ran back to his village, telling everyone he saw about the killings. He and his family escaped to their farm, which was in the bush outside the city, and stayed there for several months. Ogosi saw at least seventy people die in the town square before he ran away. The soldiers returned in 1968 and burned down most of the houses, killing more people, and after this incident Ogosi and his family went to Biafra and stayed there until the war ended. He supports the creation of a monument to the dead, particularly at the mass grave where most were buried.
Keywords
Massacres--Nigeria, Crimes against humanity, History--Nigeria--Civil War, 1967-1970, History--Nigeria--Civil War, 1967-1970--Personal Narratives, Asaba (Nigeria)
Subject: geographic
Asaba (Nigeria);
Holding Location
University of South Florida
Language
English
Media Type
Oral histories; Online audio
Format
audio/mp3
Identifier
A34-00017
Recommended Citation
Ogosi, Felix Chukwulozie, "Felix Chukwulozie Ogosi oral history interview" (2010). Asaba Memorial Oral History Project. 17.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/asaba/17
Rights Statement
