Pirate Broadcasting and Separatist Agitations in : A Study of IPOB and Radio

NWAFOR, Kenneth Adibe, Ph.D. Department of Mass Communication, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria & ONWUBERE, Chidinma Henrietta, Ph.D. Department of Mass Communication, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja

Abstract In the recent time, a radio signal branded Radio Biafra has been in the airwaves in many states of the South- East and South-South, Nigeria. Radio Biafra was originally established by the Ex-Biafran warlord, late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu during the of 1967-1970. The radio died with the war and never appeared again until early 2014 when a group named the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) revived it in the form of a pirate station. This study examined the reception of the said radio station and how its programmes have aided the separatist agenda of the group in the said regions. The study is anchored on Indoctrination theory. Cross sectional survey design was employed. A total of 400 respondents randomly drawn from 10 states that make up the defunct Republic of Biafra were studied. Findings indicate that signals of Radio Biafra are indeed received in all the states, and the contents promote separatist ideology in the area. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that while the government sustains efforts at stopping the station from transmission; dialogue with IPOB with a view to addressing some of the germane issues of their grievances is apt.

Keywords: Pirate Broadcasting, Pirate Station, Separatist Agitation, Nigeria, IPOB, Biafra, Radio Biafra 227