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weapons were fired by the
Biafrans during a two-day bombardment of Nigerian defensive positions in and around Owerri, but, the Nigerians were dug-in and remained in their original positions after suffering heavy casualties. After nearly 4 months of heavy fighting the Nigerian 16th Division remained in Owerri, though now drastically reduced in number and short of food. On March 31, 1969, the Biafran 14th Division under Lt. Col. Kalu attacked Owerri and managed to secure control over 70% of the city. Biafran soldiers began intercepting radio waves that revealed the 16th Brigade was going to execute all Biafran POWs due to a lack of food. The Swedish pilot
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396:. The Biafran 52nd Brigade, consisting of Kalu's 8th Battalion and the 9th Battalion under Maj. Ogbo Oji, was created shortly after the outbreak of the war and placed under the command of Col. Anthony Eze. Kalu was given command of the 52nd Brigade by President Ojukwu after the Nigerian 3rd Marine Division under Gen.
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and Elelem. Kalu's 14th
Division was ordered to halt and dig in around Owerri while the Biafran 60th Brigade under Col. Azum Asoya carried out the main assault against the Nigerian 16th Division under Col. E.A. Etuk. Over 50,000 rounds of ammunition, 300 mortars, 200 howitzer shells, and 20 anti-tank
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was becoming concerned about the constant confrontations Igbo civilians were having with rival ethnic groups, mainly the Hausa-Fulani population, and decided to form two infantry battalions that wouldn't be under the control of the
Nigerian government, these would later become the Biafran 7th and 8th
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was captured by two battalions of
Nigerian soldiers, Kalu was made commander of the Biafran 14th Division and given strict orders in a letter written to him by President Ojukwu. In the letter Ojukwu states "Your role in the Port Harcourt disaster is still fresh in the minds of people. You must clear
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took place after a majority of the
Nigerian Army led by 32 army officers rose up against Ironsi's dictatorship and assassinated him along with several other Igbo officers and politicians. Kalu hosted an early afternoon meeting at his house in Kaduna where he informed several south-eastern officers
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fighters, constantly hounded
Nigerian air drops, making Nigerian food supplies scarce. On April 24 the 300 Nigerian soldiers still under Col. Etuk's command began staging a breakout of Owerri and managed to escape to Nigerian-held territory after a day of heavy fighting against the Biafran troops
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swimmers" who knew how to disappear into the creeks. Kalu ordered his men to halt the offensive once the
Nigerians had been pushed out of Port Harcourt and the surrounding countryside, but, had the 52nd Brigade continued the pursue the retreating Nigerians they could have most likely re-captured
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Again, in late March and early April, after a series of reversals, Kalu blocked the first major attempt by
Adekunle to take Port Harcourt through Onne. Lt. Col. Akinrinade's Nigerian 15th Brigade was practically wiped out after the Biafran 52nd Brigade launched an offensive against the Nigerian
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who then assumed total leadership over
Nigeria. Gen. Ironsi appointed Maj. Kalu commandant of the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna due to the fact that its incumbent commander, Col. Ralph Shodeinde, was assassinated by a detachment of mutinous soldiers led by Maj.
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Bonny. Kalu quickly fell out of favor with the local
Biafran civilian leaders in Port Harcourt due to his inability to clear the area of the Nigerian threat and, consequently, was relieved of his command of the 52nd Brigade by President Ojukwu and replaced by Maj.
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surrounding the city. After the liberation of Owerri by the Biafran 14th Division Col. Kalu was promoted to the rank of Brigadier. Kalu remained stationed in Owerri until the end of the war when, on January 12, Kalu accompanied the new President of Biafra,
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about the coup and that their lives were in danger, these officers included Lt. Col. Alexander Madiebo, Maj. Christopher Emelifonwu, Maj. Ayodele Ogunro, and Maj. Samuel Ogbemudia. After hearing that both Maj. Emelifonwu and Maj. Ogunro were murdered by
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mine the Nigerian advance was halted and Obinze was captured. On December 3, 1968, the 14th Division under Kalu and the 63rd Brigade under Col. Lambert Ihenacho made their way towards Owerri, capturing the villages of
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on May 19, 1968. After 5 days of fierce urban warfare, Port Harcourt fell to the Nigerian 3rd Division under Gen. Adekunle while the Biafran 52nd Brigade was forced to retreat to Igrita.
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Prior to Kalu's celebrated career as an officer in the Biafran Army, he had been serving in the Nigerian Army since 1958. After being given formal military training in both
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After being relieved of his command by Ojukwu, Kalu was made commander of the Biafran 63rd Brigade and staged a successful assault behind enemy lines after crossing the
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soldiers in Kaduna, Lt. Col. Kalu made his way to a railroad depot where he managed to stow away inside the water-tank of a train destined for south-eastern Nigeria.
323:, Kalu was short service commissioned a Second Lieutenant in November 1959. He was later promoted to the rank of Major sometime during the first half of the 1960s.
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in 24 hours or submit your resignation from the army." Only a few hours later Lt. Col. Kalu ordered a Biafran counter-attack and with the assistance of the
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seized Bonny with little resistance in July 1967. Kalu led a campaign against the Nigerian 15th Brigade under Lt. Col.
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Battalions. Lt. Col. Kalu was asked to command the 8th Battalion, based in
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on the night of the coup. He was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in May 1966.
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On the night of January 15, 1966, a coup d'état was set in motion by 9
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523:"Federal Nigerian Army Blunders of the Nigerian Civil War - Part 10"
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491:"Nigeria: Two of Our Heroes Past"
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253:Invasion of Port Harcourt
208:(Nigerian Army) 1966-1967
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129:Ebem-Ohafia
541:Categories
483:References
299:(NMTC) in
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119:Abia State
55:March 2016
47:footnoting
454:Ogbunigwe
218:Brigadier
319:and the
225:Commands
117:Ohafia,
43:citation
528:6 March
512:6 March
496:6 March
386:Calabar
213:Colonel
150:Nigeria
459:Eziama
450:Obinze
445:Owerri
443:After
438:Igbuzo
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392:, and
382:Ahoada
378:Nsukka
359:Biafra
332:Yoruba
330:and 1
301:Kaduna
164:Biafra
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102:Ohafia
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406:Lagos
394:Bonny
317:Ghana
201:Major
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390:Oron
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