By CHARLES IWUOHA

An Israeli strategic advisor, Noga Arbel, has called the freedom of Biafra while slamming the United Kingdom for its support for ‘colonialism’ in Nigeria during a programme aired on Israel’s Channel 14 television station.

Reacting to the development, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) described the programme aired on 14 August 2026, as a formal Israeli media endorsement of Biafran independence and a direct demand that Britain cease its support for “Nigerian colonialism”.

Speaking during the programme, Arbel, a former official of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said: “The Igbo tribe of Biafra contacted the state of Israel lately and this is a very big and exciting event. Biafra is under the Nigerian control for many decades, with the support of Britain due to their colonialism growth. Thank God that Britain left Israel long time ago, but what the British did and still doing in Nigeria is to subordinate Jews and Christians under the Islamic government control. It is time that we will help Biafra to take back the control on their land.

“Even though Biafrans are welcomed in Israel – the state of Israel is hereby invited to call the British government and demand that they will stop supporting the Nigerian colonialism in Biafra and free the Jews and Christians of Biafra.”

Rachel Nwosu, IPOB’s Israel-based representative, said the development is “the single most significant breakthrough in Biafra’s diplomatic history”.

In a statement, Nwosu declared: “Israel has spoken. The Jewish state, which knows the pain of subjugation, has now called on its government to stand with Biafra. Abuja should be terrified – because Jerusalem is listening.”

“The Channel 14 broadcast – widely regarded as Israel’s most influential conservative platform with direct access to the highest echelons of power – did not merely discuss Biafra in academic terms. It issued a clear and unequivocal call for the Israeli government to formally intervene, to demand that Britain withdraw its support for Nigeria, and to recognise Biafra as a land under colonial occupation,” she added.

The broadcast followed the July 2026 reception of an IPOB delegation by the Knesset, the unicameral national legislature and supreme governing body of Israel.

The IPOB delegation, led by the Directorate of State, DOS, headed by Mazi Chris Nwaogu, was received by Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Nissim Vaturi, and Deputy Chairman of the Knesset and Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Mrs Limor Son Har-Melech.

IPOB had described the reception as a milestone in the organization’s peaceful international diplomatic outreach, noting that during the engagement, the Knesset expressed sympathy for Biafra’s plight and raised concern over the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, who has languished in custody since 2021 and is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction on terrorism charges filed by the Nigerian government.

Further reacting to the Channel 14 broadcast, IPOB said, “An independent Biafra will serve as a secure homeland for persecuted Judeo-Christians across Nigeria,” adding that “Israel’s awakening to this reality signals the beginning of the end for Nigerian tyranny in our land”.

“Now, with Channel 14 explicitly calling for Israeli government action against Britain and Nigeria, the Knesset meetings are no longer symbolic – they are the opening salvo of a coordinated diplomatic offensive that threatens to unravel Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

“For Abuja, the implications are nothing short of catastrophic. An Israeli television network – with ties to the country’s political leadership – has openly branded Nigeria’s control over Biafra as “colonialism” and accused Britain of subordinating Jews and Christians under Islamic rule. This language directly mirrors IPOB’s own framing and confers Israeli media legitimacy upon the separatist narrative.

“The programme’s framing of Biafra as a land of Jews and Christians oppressed by an Islamic-dominated Nigerian state draws directly on the historical and cultural claims long advanced by Igbo communities. These connections, previously dismissed by Abuja as propaganda, have now been given prime-time Israeli validation,” the group added.

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