The Indigenous People of Biafra has described comments by an Israeli strategic adviser calling for the freedom of Biafra and an end to British support for Nigeria as a major diplomatic development for the separatist group.
The comments were made by an Israeli strategic adviser and former Israeli Foreign Ministry official, Noga Arbel, during a programme aired on Israel’s Channel 14 on August 14, 2026.
Arbel reportedly called for the freedom of Biafra and urged Israel to engage the British government over what she described as British support for “Nigerian colonialism.”
Reacting in a statement, IPOB’s Israel-based representative, Rachel Nwosu, described the broadcast as “the single most significant breakthrough in Biafra’s diplomatic history.”
Nwosu said the programme represented an important development in the group’s international campaign for Biafran independence.
She said, “Israel has spoken. The Jewish state, which knows the pain of subjugation, has now called on its government to stand with Biafra.”
According to her, the Channel 14 programme went beyond an academic discussion of Biafra by calling for Israeli government intervention and urging Britain to withdraw its alleged support for Nigeria.
The broadcast followed an earlier meeting between an IPOB delegation and members of Israel’s Knesset in July.
The delegation, led by the group’s Directorate of State headed by Mazi Chris Nwaogu, was received by Knesset Deputy Speaker Nissim Vaturi and Deputy Chairman of the Knesset and member of its Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Limor Son Har-Melech.
IPOB had described the meeting as part of its international diplomatic campaign for Biafra’s independence and said concerns were also raised over the continued detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Reacting to the Channel 14 programme, IPOB claimed that the development had moved its international campaign into a new phase.
The group said, “An independent Biafra will serve as a secure homeland for persecuted Judeo-Christians across Nigeria.”
IPOB further argued that the programme had given international visibility to its claim that Biafrans were being subjected to political and religious oppression.
It said the comments also strengthened what it described as its diplomatic engagement with Israeli political institutions.
However, the comments attributed to Arbel and the reaction by IPOB do not, in themselves, establish an official change in Israel’s government policy towards Nigeria or Biafra.
IPOB said it would continue its international diplomatic efforts, insisting that the Biafra question should be addressed through peaceful political and diplomatic engagement.
