Nigeria and Liberia: A History of Conflict and Intervention

Nov 06, 2025 0

The relationship between Nigeria and Liberia is complex, marked by periods of cooperation and conflict. This article delves into the history of these two West African nations, focusing on the Liberian Civil War and the intervention led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with significant contributions from Nigeria.

The First Liberian Civil War (1989-1997)

The First Liberian Civil War, lasting from 1989 to 1997, was a brutal conflict that claimed approximately 200,000 lives and displaced a million people. This war was the first of two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia.

In 1980, Samuel Doe seized power in a rebellion against the Liberian Government, becoming the first Liberian President of non Americo-Liberian descent. Any hope that Doe would improve the way Liberia was run was put aside as he quickly clamped down on opposition, fueled by his paranoia of a counter-coup attempt against him. As promised, Doe held elections in 1985 and won the presidency by just enough of a margin to avoid a runoff.

The Gio and Mano ethnic groups were persecuted because they were suspected of treason and were seen as inferiors to the President's own tribe, the Krahn. Charles Taylor, who had left Doe's government after being accused of embezzlement, assembled a group of rebels in Côte d'Ivoire, mostly ethnic Gios and Manos who felt persecuted by Doe, who later became known as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). They invaded Nimba County on 24 December 1989. The Liberian Army retaliated against the whole population of the region, attacking unarmed civilians, mainly of the Mandingo tribe, and burning villages. Many left as refugees for Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, but opposition to Doe was inflamed.

Charles Taylor's NPFL forces initially encountered plenty of support within Nimba County, which had endured the majority of Samuel Doe's wrath after the 1985 attempted coup. Thousands of ethnic Gio and Mano joined when Taylor and his force of 100 rebels reentered Liberia in 1989, on Christmas Eve. The AFL acted in a very brutal and scorched-earth fashion, which quickly alienated the local people. The rebel assault soon pitted ethnic Krahn sympathetic to the Doe regime against those victimized by it, the Gio and the Mano. Thousands of civilians were massacred on both sides. Hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

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By June 1990, Taylor's forces were laying siege to Monrovia. In July 1990, Prince Yormie Johnson split from Taylor and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front (INPFL). Doe was captured, tortured, and executed by the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a splinter faction of the NPFL led by Prince Johnson, in September 1990. The NPFL and INPFL then fought each other for control of the capital city, Monrovia and against the Armed Forces of Liberia and pro-Doe United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy.

The Monrovia Church massacre was carried out by approximately 30 ethnic Krahn government soldiers, killing 600 civilians in St.

The True Cause of the War that DESTROYED Liberia - LIBERIAN CIVIL WAR.

ECOWAS Intervention and ECOMOG

In August 1990, the 16-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to deploy a joint military intervention force, the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), and placed it under Nigerian leadership. The mission later included troops from non-ECOWAS countries, including Uganda and Tanzania. ECOMOG also sought to prevent the conflict from spreading into neighboring states, which share a complex history of state, economic, and ethno-linguistic social relations with Liberia.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attempted to persuade Doe to resign and go into exile, but despite his weak position - besieged in his mansion - he refused. On 9 September 1990, Doe visited the newly established ECOMOG headquarters in the Free Port of Maher. According to Stephen Ellis, his motive was to complain that the ECOMOG commander had not paid a courtesy call to him as the Head of State; however, the exact circumstances that led to Doe's visit to the Free Port are still unclear.

With military discipline absent and bloodshed throughout the capital region, members of ECOWAS created the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to restore order. The force comprised some 4,000 troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Guinea. ECOMOG succeeded in bringing Taylor and Johnson to agree to its intervention. A series of peacemaking conferences in regional capitals followed.

In November 1990, ECOWAS invited the principal Liberian players to meet in Banjul, Gambia to form a government of national unity. The negotiated settlement established the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU), led by Dr. Amos Sawyer, leader of the LPP. Bishop Ronald Diggs of the Liberian Council of Churches became vice president. Taylor's NPFL refused to attend the conference. Within days, hostilities resumed. ECOMOG was reinforced in order to protect the interim government.

ECOMOG troops in Monrovia, 1990

Peace Efforts and Continued Conflict

There were meetings in Bamako in November 1990, Lomé in January 1991, and Yamoussoukro in June-October 1991. The first seven peace conferences failed, including the Yamoussoukro I-IV processes.

In June 1991, the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) was formed by supporters of the late President Samuel K. Doe and former Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) fighters who had taken refuge in Guinea and Sierra Leone. In September 1991, after fighting alongside the Sierra Leonean army against the Sierra Leonean Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, ULIMO forces entered western Liberia. From its outset, ULIMO was beset with internal divisions. In 1994, the group effectively broke into two separate militias: The ULIMO-J, an ethnic Krahn faction led by General Roosevelt Johnson; and the ULIMO-K, a Mandingo-based faction led by Alhaji G.V. Peace was still far off as both Taylor and Johnson claimed power. ECOMOG declared an Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) with Amos Sawyer as their president, with the broad support of Johnson.

In 1993, ECOWAS brokered a peace agreement in Cotonou, Benin. On September 22, 1993, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council established the UN Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), to support ECOMOG in implementing this peace agreement. In May 1994, renewed armed hostilities broke out and continued, becoming especially intense in July and August. ECOMOG, and later UNOMIL, members were captured and held hostage by some factions. By mid-1994, the humanitarian situation had become disastrous, with 1.8 million Liberians in need of humanitarian assistance. Conditions continued to deteriorate.

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In September 1994, factional leaders agreed to the Akosombo Agreement, a supplement to the Cotonou agreement, named after the Benin city where it was signed. The security situation in Liberia remained poor. In October 1994, in the face of ECOMOG funding shortfalls and a lack of will by the Liberian combatants to honor the agreements to end the war, the UN Security Council reduced the number of UNOMIL observers to about 90. In December 1994, the factions and other parties signed the Accra Agreement, a supplement to the Akosombo Agreement.

The Path to Elections and Taylor's Presidency

In 1995, peace negotiations and foreign involvement led to a ceasefire. In August 1995, the main factions signed an agreement largely brokered by Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings. At the beginning of September 1995, Liberia's three principal warlords - Taylor, George Boley and Alhaji Kromah - made theatrical entrances into Monrovia. A ruling council of six members under civilian Wilton G. S.

In April 1996, heavy fighting broke out again. This led to the evacuation of most international non-governmental organizations and the destruction of much of Monrovia. Fighting continued until a peace agreement between the main factions occurred in August 1996. In August 1996, fighting stopped after the Abuja Accord in Nigeria, agreeing to disarmament and demobilization by 1997 and elections in July 1997. In 1997, the Liberian people elected Charles Taylor as the President after he entered the capital city, Monrovia, by force. Liberians voted for Taylor in the hope that he would end the bloodshed.

In a climate hardly conducive to free movement and security of persons, Taylor and his National Patriotic Party won an overwhelming victory against 12 candidates. Assisted by widespread intimidation, Taylor took 75 per cent of the presidential poll. No other candidate won more than 10 per cent. The NPP won a similar proportion of seats in both parliamentary chambers.

After Taylor's victory, Liberia was sufficiently peaceful that refugees began to return. The bloodshed slowed considerably, but it did not end. Violent events flared up regularly after the putative end of the war. Taylor was accused of backing guerrillas in neighboring countries and funneling diamond money into arms purchases for the rebel armies he supported, and into luxuries for himself. Other leaders were forced to leave the country, and some ULIMO forces reformed as the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

The Second Liberian Civil War and Taylor's Downfall

The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 and ended in October 2003, when ECOWAS intervened to stop the rebel siege on Monrovia and exiled Charles Taylor to Nigeria. By the conclusion of the final war, more than 250,000 people had been killed and nearly 1 million displaced.

Charles Taylor was sentenced to a trial in 2003, after being accused of rape and acts of sexual violence, promoting child soldiers, and an illegal ownership of weapons. He denied these accusations, but was testified against by his victims. He was arrested in 2006 and taken to The Hague for his trial.

Here is a table summarizing key events and figures:

Event/Figure	Description
Samuel Doe	Liberian President who seized power in 1980, executed in 1990.
Charles Taylor	Leader of the NPFL, later President of Liberia.
ECOMOG	Military intervention force led by Nigeria under ECOWAS.
First Liberian Civil War	Conflict lasting from 1989-1997, resulting in 200,000 deaths.
Second Liberian Civil War	Conflict that began in 1999 and ended in 2003.

Liberia's population pyramid in 2020. The obvious "cinching" between ages 23 and 31 corresponds to the generation born during the years of the civil war. The excess female population among those aged 46 or under is due to young men and boys killed in the civil war.