Separatist ‘troll farm’ fuels Nigerian tensions

A network of Nigerian expat separatists is using social media to call for violence and incite ethnic hatred against opponents of Biafran independence, a BBC investigation has found. In 1967, separatists from the mainly ethnic Igbo region declared independence for the Republic of Biafra. They fought and lost a three-year civil war against the Nigerian Government in which more than 1m people died. More than half a century later, social media is a new frontline for those who are continuing the struggle. The BBC's probe revealed many influential supporters operating outside the country, openly promoting disinformation and inciting violence on social media from across Europe, the US, Asia and other parts of Africa. Nigerian investigative journalist Nicholas Ibekwe describes the group's online operation as an ‘organised troll farm’.