A former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly and ex-South-East spokesman for Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has criticised comments made by former Head of State Yakubu Gowon over civilian casualties during the Nigerian Civil War, saying the remarks downplayed the scale of suffering experienced in the South-East.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Onoh faulted Gowon’s recent interview on [Arise TV](https://www.arise.tv?utm_source=chatgpt.com), in which the retired general recalled visiting former Biafran territories after the war and noticing black spots on palm trees said to be bullet marks.

According to Gowon, the observation led him to conclude that “most of the bullets fired by the Nigerian army hit palm trees, not people.”

Reacting to the comments, Onoh said the account “strains credulity” and contradicts historical records, eyewitness accounts and international reports on the war fought between 1967 and 1970.

He said the conflict resulted in an estimated three million deaths, with many caused by starvation and disease linked to the federal blockade, in addition to civilian casualties from combat operations, bombings and reprisals.

“Reducing these horrors to bullets harmlessly striking palm trees does not withstand basic scrutiny,” Onoh said.

“It ignores the well-documented humanitarian crisis, including widespread kwashiorkor among children, mass displacement, and the human cost of prolonged fighting across the Southeast.”

Onoh also questioned the credibility of Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, arguing that it reflected a defensive interpretation of the war.

He said Gowon’s description of the conflict as a reluctant “police action” aimed at preserving national unity, while placing most of the blame on Biafran leaders and downplaying the impact of pre-war killings and the blockade, appeared more like an attempt at self-justification than a balanced historical account.

The former lawmaker acknowledged Gowon’s post-war “No Victor, No Vanquished” policy and the programme of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, but maintained that genuine healing required open acknowledgement of the suffering caused by the war.

“Excusing or deflecting core atrocities through anecdotes like the palm trees story undermines trust in the entire account,” he said.

Onoh urged Nigerians, particularly those in the South-East, to approach Gowon’s memoir critically, insisting that national reconciliation depended on confronting the full human cost of the conflict.

Drawing comparisons with expressions of remorse by former United States Defence Secretary Robert McNamara and former US Army officer William Calley over the Vietnam War, as well as apologies by German leaders for atrocities committed during the Second World War, Onoh said Gowon should apologise to the Igbo people.

“In light of this, General Gowon owes the Igbo people a simple, sincere apology for the suffering endured during the war. Not that this simple act means anything, but it means everything.

“Your apology will be remembered as a true general and statesman’s act of healing that shall be the prelude to a lasting victory,” he said.