BBC World Service to launch documentary on Biafran War on iPlayer, YouTube

The BBC World Service and Nigerian filmmaker Meji Alabi are gearing up to launch their documentary on the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, on iPlayer and YouTube.

Meji Alabi

Meji Alabi via CC

Featuring eye-witness accounts and previously unseen archive from the front line, Surviving Biafra (1×75′) presents differing perspectives on the war, including from those on both sides of the conflict.

In the late 1960s, the Nigerian Civil War claimed the lives of between 600,000 and three million people who died amid allegations of war crimes and genocide, with many starving to death.

In the film, director Meji Alabi interviews his grandfather – a former army commando – and speaks with the soldiers and civilians his grandfather fought alongside and against.

Produced by the BBC Africa Eye team, Surviving Biafra will be available from June 1 on BBC iPlayer and YouTube. The documentary will also be available in Hausa, Pidgin, Igbo, Yoruba and French.

Alabi said: “Like so many Nigerians, my grandfather’s life was forever shaped by the Biafran War. With each passing year, fewer survivors remain – but the memories of what they witnessed have never left them. It is now the responsibility of younger generations to preserve these stories before they disappear forever.”

Liz Gibbons, director, BBC Global Journalism, added: “As we approach the 60th anniversary of the start of the conflict, the BBC World Service is sharing this incredibly powerful film with our international audience. As well as hearing deeply personal perspectives, we document the events that led up to the war and its devastating impact on so many.”