About the project

Erin Kimmerle is welcomed by community leaders and
the Asagba of Asaba, HRM, Professor Joseph Chike Edozien

The Asaba Memorial Project represents a collaboration between USF researchers in Anthropology and History, together with the people of Asaba, and the USF Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, to document and memorialize a mass killing of civilians that took place in 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War. The goal of this initiative is to “reclaim” the history of the event, in a spirit of reconciliation, allowing previously-unheard stories to be told and valued.

The project was initiated by Dr. Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology, who is Principal Investigator on a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant, supported by colleagues in the Lagos State University, College of Medicine (LASUCOM), under the direction of Dr. John Obafunwa.

While in Nigeria, Kimmerle met Hon. Emma Okocha, survivor of the Asaba massacres, author of the only book about the Asaba events (Blood on the Niger), and representative of a committee dedicated to restoring the memory of what happened. In a 2009 visit to Asaba, Kimmerle met with local leaders, including the Asagba (traditional ruler), H.R.M Prof. Joseph Chike Edozien. Upon her return to the United States, she enlisted the support of Dr. Elizabeth Bird (Anthropology) and Dr. Fraser Ottanelli (History); in December 2009, they visited Lagos and Asaba, met with community members and leaders, and recorded videotaped testimony from more than 20 survivors. Future visits are being planned, and funding sought.

Research shows that communities in which there is formal commemoration of atrocities appear more resilient than those in which silence prevails. The Asaba Memorial Project seeks to provide a scholarly assessment of this historical event, to break the silence, and acknowledge and honor the dead and their descendents.