DEPARTMENT OF STATE
GIST: NIGERIA: No Progress on Resuming Talks; General Ankrah Seeking OAU Committee Meeting with Ojukwu; Spanish Arms for Biafra
INR BRIEFING NOTE
TO: The Director, INR
DATE: 6/12/68
TIME: a.m.
COMMENTS CONTAINED IN INR BRIEFING NOTES ARE INITIAL AND TENTATIVE.
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SOURCE(S)
London 9756 C/NOFORN
6/11/68
CLASS./CONTROL(S)
June 10 meeting between Biafra's chief negotiator, Sir Louis Mbanefo, and Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Shepherd, produced no apparent forward motion. Mbanefo gave lengthy review Biafran position, insisting there could be no substantive negotiations with the FNG before a cease fire and that Britain must stop arms shipments to the FNG. He agreed, however, to meet with Shepherd again on the evening of June 11.
Prime Minister Wilson is to see FNG's Enahoro on the afternoon of June 12 to receive a letter from Gowon. Foreign Secretary Stewart will be present and will hold discussions with Enahoro. Shepherd was seeing Enahoro June 11, presumably to fill him in on his June 10 session with Mbanefo.
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Lagos 9874 —
6/11/68
British in Lagos believe Mbanefo carries little or no weight with Ojukwu, who is using him as respectable front man while subjecting him to rigorous restrictions in his negotiations for the rebels.
RAF COMMENT: We agree that Mbanefo does not make policy for Biafra. His role in London now, as London 9756 suggests, is to press the UK to impose embargo on arms sales to Lagos.
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TDCSDB 315/020/2-68 S/NOFORN/GD
6/11/68
(Source: a close confidant of Ankrah's whose reporting is fairly reliable.)
General Ankrah states he has received a favorable response from Emperor Haile Selassie to his suggestion that a meeting of the chiefs of state of the member countries of the OAU committee on Nigeria be held in either Niamay or Yaounde. Ankrah hopes to be able to bring Lt. Col. Ojukwu to the meeting and "knock some sense into him."
RAF COMMENT: Since the OAU ad hoc committee on Nigeria visited Lagos last November and said it opposed Biafran secession, it has lapsed into inactivity. With next summit mtg scheduled for Algiers in September, the committee members want to be able to report that they bestirred themselves.
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TDCS 314/09356-68 C/NOFORN
6/11/68
(Source: A Western businessman from a Spanish official with knowledge of arms production. Businessman an untested source.)
The Spanish Government has sold or is in the process of selling 20,000 7.62mm rifles to Nigeria. Field Comment: On June 6 the US Consulate in Bilbao reported that a source in the arms industry said the arms are being sold to Biafra, not the FNG.
RAF COMMENT: Lagos has been making large arms purchases in Spain. We are not so sure that the Spanish Govt is the supplier, but it clearly must know about the sales.
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INR OFFICE
BRIEFER
EXTENSION
RAF
Andrew/Kinter
4970
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SECRET/NOFORN/GD
*(Classification)*
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Form 31097 DocId:33061196 Page 19
6-66