Odumegwu Ojukwu dclared that the Igbo people seceded from northern Nigeria to form the Republic of Biafra.
Unbeknownst to General Banjo a unit of Biafran soldiers under Lt. Col. Oechi attacked the government residence of Mid-Western Region governor David Ejoor on the orders of President Odumegwu Ojukwu to capture Ejoor dead or alive, Ejoor's guards resisted the attacking Biafrans which gave Ejoor enough time to escape and flee to Lagos.