Former Nigerian Head of State Yakubu Gowon says an arms ban by the United States and the United Kingdom during the Nigerian Civil War compelled Nigeria to seek weapons from the Soviet Union. In accounts reported by Nigerian outlets, Gowon describes how the lack of support from the Western powers left his government relying on Soviet supplies to sustain its war effort. Vanguard and The Punch both attribute the claim to Gowon and link the shift in procurement to the US and UK refusal. According to Vanguard, Gowon also argues that this intervention later contributes to Nigeria’s ability to turn the tide during the conflict. The civil war is described as lasting from July 1967 to January 1970, a three-year period in which the federal government fought Biafran forces. The reports present Gowon’s perspective on international arms access during the war, without additional corroborating detail or documentation from the cited outlets. The claims therefore reflect Gowon’s account of how Nigeria sourced arms during the conflict amid Western restrictions.