Noga Arbel criticises British policy in Nigeria as separatist group welcomes Channel 14 broadcast

Israeli strategic advisor Noga Arbel, a former Israeli Foreign Ministry official, has called for Biafra freedom and criticised Britain over its historical and continuing relationship with Nigeria during a programme broadcast by Israel’s Channel 14 on August 14, 2026.

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Arbel’s comments have drawn a strong reaction from the Indigenous People of Biafra, which described the broadcast as a significant development in its international campaign for an independent Biafra.

Speaking during the programme, Arbel claimed that Biafrans had recently contacted Israel and urged the Israeli government to engage Britain over its relationship with Nigeria.

“The Igbo tribe of Biafra contacted the state of Israel lately and this is a very big and exciting event,” Arbel said.

She further called on Israel to support Biafra’s cause and urged Britain to end what she characterised as support for Nigerian control over the region.

“Thank God that Britain left Israel long time ago, but what the British did and still doing in Nigeria is to subordinate Jews and Christians under the Islamic government control,” she said.

Arbel’s remarks included religious and political characterisations of Nigeria that are contested and were not independently substantiated in the material surrounding the broadcast.

She concluded by urging Israel to call on Britain to “stop supporting the Nigerian colonialism in Biafra”.

IPOB’s Israel-based representative, Rachel Nwosu, described the broadcast as a major moment for the separatist movement.

“Israel has spoken. The Jewish state, which knows the pain of subjugation, has now called on its government to stand with Biafra,” Nwosu said.

IPOB argued that the programme went beyond a discussion of Biafra and represented an appeal for direct Israeli diplomatic involvement.

The group described the development as “the single most significant breakthrough in Biafra’s diplomatic history”, while claiming that Channel 14’s discussion had given international visibility to its longstanding position on the Nigerian civil war and Biafra’s independence.

The broadcast came weeks after an IPOB delegation was received at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in July 2026.

The delegation was led by Mazi Chris Nwaogu, head of IPOB’s Directorate of State. The group said the delegation met Deputy Speaker Nissim Vaturi and Knesset Deputy Chairman Limor Son Har-Melech during its visit.

IPOB characterised the engagement as part of its peaceful international diplomatic campaign and said discussions included concerns over the continued detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Kanu has been held by Nigerian authorities since 2021 and was convicted on terrorism-related charges. He is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction.

The Israeli broadcast has nevertheless prompted IPOB to make broader claims about the political implications of its engagement with Israeli institutions.

The organisation said an independent Biafra could provide a homeland for what it described as persecuted Judeo-Christians in Nigeria and argued that the latest developments represented the beginning of a wider diplomatic campaign.

It also claimed that Channel 14’s coverage had effectively endorsed its description of Nigeria’s control over the South-East as “colonialism”.

However, the distinction between the comments of an individual advisor, a television programme and an official position of the Israeli government is important. Arbel’s remarks, as reported, do not by themselves establish a formal Israeli government policy recognising Biafra or supporting its independence.

Nigeria’s territorial integrity remains an established matter of state policy, while Biafra’s independence remains a separatist demand rather than a recognised sovereign claim.

The latest development nonetheless illustrates the increasingly international dimension of IPOB’s campaign, as the group continues to seek political and diplomatic attention outside Nigeria.

For Abuja, the comments are likely to attract scrutiny because they touch on Nigeria’s territorial integrity and the longstanding sensitivities surrounding Biafran separatism.

The debate also carries the weight of Nigeria’s history. Biafra declared independence from Nigeria in 1967, triggering a civil war that lasted until 1970 and resulted in a devastating humanitarian crisis.

More than five decades later, demands for self-determination remain politically contentious, particularly in the South-East, where IPOB has continued to campaign for a separate Biafran state.

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The Channel 14 broadcast therefore adds a notable international dimension to an issue that has remained deeply rooted in Nigeria’s domestic political and security landscape.