On July 14th, 2026, Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile Ogechukwu Nkere provided testimony to the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee to speak against a request for extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and imposition of U.S. import restrictions on Federal Republic of Nigeria archaeological and ethnological material.
Prime Minister Nkere highlighted Nigeria’s persecution of Christians and pro-Biafra organizations, as well as the U.S. government’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, as reasons the State Department should reject renewal of the MOU. Prime Minister Nkere ended his remarks by stating “Unless the Federal Government of Nigeria ends its persecutions of Biafrans and Nigerian Christians, the MOU should be suspended until Nigeria is in alignment with broader US government priorities. An MOU with the US government, even on cultural property matters, is a privilege and not a right.”
This is the very first time in history in which a Biafran independence leader has participated in a State Department hearing or provided testimony to the U.S. State Department.
