Igbo people

The Igbo people (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh, US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh; also spelled Ibo and historically also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe, Eboans, Heebo; natively Ńdị́ Ìgbò) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is found in modern-day Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States, while others can be found in the Niger Delta and along the Cross River. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.

The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster. The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster.

Before the period of British colonial rule in the 20th century, the Igbo people were largely governed by the centralized chiefdoms of Nri, Aro Confederacy, Agbor, Kingdom of Aboh and Onitsha. The Igbo people became overwhelmingly Christian during the evangelism of the missionaries in the colonial era in the twentieth century. In the wake of decolonisation, the Igbo developed a strong sense of ethnic identity. Christianity and Omenala/Odinala are the major religions, with Islamic minorities.

After ethnic tensions following the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the Igbos seceded from Nigeria and attempted to establish a new independent country called Biafra, triggering the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Millions of Biafran civilians died from starvation after the Nigerian military formed a blockade around Biafra, an event that led to international media promoting humanitarian aid for Biafra. Biafra was eventually defeated by Nigeria and reintegrated into the country. The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), two organizations formed after 1999, continue to struggle for an independent Igbo state.