By late 1967, life inside the secessionist enclave of Biafra had collapsed into a daily struggle for survival. Markets were empty. Farms lay abandoned. Families survived on diminishing rations while children showed unmistakable signs of famine related illnesses, most notably kwashiorkor and marasmus. For many civilians, the war was no longer defined by politics or ideology but by hunger and the question of whether relief would arrive in time.
After nightfall, the sound of aircraft engines occasionally broke the silence. Planes descended onto the narrow and unlit airstrip at Uli, unloading sacks of food, dried milk, and medical supplies. These night landings became the most tangible expression of international concern and the most controversial humanitarian operation of Nigeria’s Civil War.
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Churches Step Into the Vacuum
The humanitarian crisis forced church organisations into action with unusual speed. In December 1967, local churches in Biafra issued urgent public appeals for assistance. By January 1968, Catholic and Protestant agencies began securing transport through commercial carriers, including aircraft operated by Hank Wharton Aviation. These early efforts were improvised, risky, and conducted under the shadow of accusations that relief flights were becoming entangled with military logistics.
Soon, relief operations became more structured. The World Council of Churches coordinated Protestant efforts, while Caritas Internationalis led Catholic relief. Together, they formed Joint Church Aid, which emerged as the largest non state humanitarian actor in the conflict.
The Red Cross and the Question of Neutrality
The International Committee of the Red Cross had entered the conflict earlier, offering its services to the Federal Government shortly after hostilities began in July 1967. Its mandate was formally accepted, allowing it to operate within the constraints of international law and Nigerian sovereignty.
Red Cross aircraft flew from Fernando Po into Biafra, landing only at night and explicitly at the pilots’ own risk. For over a year, these flights continued despite growing danger. The ICRC insisted on neutrality and legality, coordinating relief on both sides of the conflict while resisting pressure to operate without federal approval.
Church organisations, by contrast, chose a different course.
São Tomé, Uli, and a Parallel Airlift
Flying from São Tomé without clearance from Lagos, church led operations prioritised immediate human need over formal authorisation. By mid 1968, international media coverage of the famine brought a surge of donations from governments, charities, and private individuals.
The scale of the airlift expanded rapidly. Multiple aircraft flew nightly into Uli, delivering food, medicine, and medical equipment. By 1969, this operation had become the largest civilian relief airlift since the Second World War.
For civilians, the impact was immediate and life saving. For the Federal Government, the implications were deeply troubling.
Accusations, Arms, and Escalating Tensions
Federal authorities accused church organisations of undermining Nigerian sovereignty and prolonging the war. There is evidence that mixed cargoes including non humanitarian material were transported early in 1968, particularly before church agencies acquired their own aircraft. Although this practice ended, the continued use of unregulated night flights created opportunities for arms traffickers to exploit the same routes.
Relations deteriorated steadily. The issue reached crisis point in June 1969 when Nigerian forces shot down a Swedish Red Cross aircraft. The pilots were later identified as mercenaries. The incident ended the ICRC’s coordinating role in Nigeria, though its personnel already in Biafra continued assisting with distribution.
By that point, the ICRC described the war as its gravest emergency since 1945, with monthly expenditure rising to approximately £1.4 million.
A Church Divided Before the War Began
The humanitarian crisis exposed older failures. Nigeria’s political instability had been evident years before the war, marked by electoral violence and ethnic tension. With few exceptions, including a warning issued by the Student Christian Movement in December 1965, church institutions largely remained silent.
Late mediation efforts in early 1967 failed to prevent conflict. Once war began, churches fractured along political and regional lines.
Faith, Propaganda, and Moral Authority in Biafra
In Biafra, Catholic and Anglican leaders aligned closely with the secessionist government. Churches provided moral and ideological support, framing the struggle in religious terms and using biblical imagery to sustain morale. Clergy became influential figures, trusted by civilians and exempt from conscription.
Religious belief intensified amid suffering. Spiritual practices flourished among soldiers and civilians alike, sometimes offering comfort, sometimes complicating military discipline.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, the Methodist Church and other denominations openly supported the Federal Government, criticising Joint Church Aid and accusing international church bodies of political bias.
Relief on an Unprecedented Scale
Despite controversy, the humanitarian impact was undeniable. Between March 1968 and March 1969, Caritas Internationalis alone conducted approximately 1,900 flights, delivering around 20,000 tons of food and medical supplies. By early 1969, combined international relief spending reached millions of dollars per month.
Nothing comparable had previously been attempted in the region.
After the War: Aid, Control, and Memory
When the war ended in January 1970, the Federal Government barred most foreign relief agencies, including the World Council of Churches and Caritas. Catholic clergy were removed from the former enclave but not harmed.
General Yakubu Gowon announced a policy of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, and Reconciliation, declaring no victors and no vanquished. Churches participated in post war recovery, supporting reintegration and rebuilding efforts that earned official recognition.
Yet debate persisted. Critics argued that church aid prolonged the conflict and blurred humanitarian boundaries. Supporters maintained that saving lives justified defiance of state authority.
For those who waited in the dark at Uli, the argument was simpler. Relief meant survival.
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Author’s Note
This article traces how famine transformed Nigeria’s Civil War into a global humanitarian crisis, drawing churches into unprecedented relief operations that saved lives while challenging state authority. It highlights the moral, political, and religious tensions created by the Biafran airlift and explains how these choices reshaped modern humanitarian intervention and church state relations in Nigeria.
References
- International Committee of the Red Cross Reports on the Nigerian Civil War
- World Council of Churches, Joint Church Aid Records
- Caritas Internationalis Biafra Relief Documentation
