Biafran Appeal to Trump and Netanyahu for Recognition, Citing Israel's Somaliland Precedent

Biafran Appeal to Trump and Netanyahu for Recognition, Citing Israel's Somaliland Precedent   In a recently circulated open letter a...

Biafran Appeal to Trump and Netanyahu for Recognition, Citing Israel's Somaliland Precedent

 

In a recently circulated open letter addressed to U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the pro-Biafra advocacy group Family Writers Press International has urged both leaders to extend diplomatic recognition to a prospective independent Biafra. The letter, signed on behalf of "millions of Biafrans," draws a direct parallel between the Biafra's quest for self-determination in southeastern Nigeria and Israel's historic decision to recognize Somaliland's independence on December 26, 2025.

 

Israel's recognition of Somaliland the first by any UN member state marked a breakthrough for the breakaway region, which has functioned autonomously since 1991 but lacked international legitimacy until Prime Minister Netanyahu signed a mutual declaration "in the spirit of the Abraham Accords." The move, praised by Somaliland as a step toward stability and economic cooperation, provoked widespread condemnation from Somalia, the African Union, Arab states, and others, who viewed it as a violation of territorial integrity and a potential precedent for separatist movements.

 

The Biafran letter argues that Israel's "moral clarity" in prioritizing a people's "will and safety" over imposed borders should apply similarly to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement. It claims decades of "systematic violence, targeted killings, and forced displacement" against Igbo communities, allegedly enabled by elements within the Nigerian state and armed Islamist groups, including Fulani herdsmen accused of seizing lands and terrorizing civilians.

 

Central to the appeal is the role of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, described as a defender who "stood in the gap when institutions failed." Kanu founded the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in December 2020, presented in the letter as a "defensive response" to existential threats.

 

 

Family Writers Press International, a media arm affiliated with IPOB, frames recognition as a pathway to regional stability by resolving root causes of conflict, rather than perpetuating oppression. It invokes human rights, security, and international law, warning that history judges those who act or fail to act in moments of crisis.

 

The letter has gained traction on social. It read in Full:

 

 

Your Excellency President Donald J. Trump,

 

Your Excellency Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,

 

We write this open letter on behalf of millions of Biafrans whose voices have been suppressed for decades within the Nigerian state. Recent global developments particularly Israel’s principled recognition of Somaliland have renewed hope among oppressed peoples who seek dignity, security, and the right to determine their own future.

 

Biafra’s case is not abstract or theoretical. It is a matter of survival. For years, Indigenous people of the  Eastern Nigerian Region have faced systematic violence, targeted killings, and forced displacement. Armed Islamist groups, many operating openly have attacked rural communities, seized ancestral lands, and terrorized civilians. These groups do not act in isolation. They benefit from tolerance, protection, and in many cases sponsorship from elements within the Nigerian state that have repeatedly failed to protect our people.

 

Under these conditions, self-preservation became unavoidable. The establishment of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) on December 12, 2020, following its effective activation on December 13, 2020 was a defensive response to an existential threat. Since then, ESN has played a critical role in preventing further incursions by terrorist groups into Eastern communities. This effort did not emerge from aggression, but from necessity.

 

Central to this struggle is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who stood in the gap when institutions failed. His leadership galvanized a people facing extinction and reminded the world that silence in the face of injustice only empowers the aggressor. The continued persecution and detention of voices advocating peaceful self-determination further underscores the absence of justice within Nigeria’s current framework.

 

Your Excellencies, the recognition of Somaliland demonstrated moral clarity: that borders imposed or maintained through force cannot override the will and safety of a people. Biafra seeks the same consideration. Recognition would not only affirm the right to self-determination but also contribute to stability by addressing the root causes of conflict rather than ignoring them.

 

We respectfully urge you to consider Biafra’s case on its merits, through the lens of human rights, security, and international law. Recognition would send a clear message that the world does not reward oppression, nor does it abandon peoples facing annihilation.

 

History records those who acted when it mattered.

 

Respectfully,

 

Family Writers Press International