Ibadan, September 1939: Where history paused as German nationals were detained under colonial orders at the outbreak of WWII.
In September 1939, after World War II began, Nigeria’s British colonial Government set up a main internment camp in Ibadan, Nigeria, to hold German citizens.
In September 1939, plans were put in place to establish a central detention center for enemy aliens in Ibadan.
The Commissioner of Police supervised the camp and coordinated the arrests, in close collaboration with local administrative officials.
132 Germans were formally detained throughout Nigeria, including those arrested and held at the Ibadan camp. Of these, 63 were German men.
Women and children were not required to stay in the internment camp but could join their male relatives if they chose to.
A large portion of those held, 79 out of 132, were granted parole.
As the internee population increased, including German prisoners transferred from Cameroon, the Ibadan camp’s facilities became overburdened. To handle the growing numbers, officials arranged for many of the detainees to be sent to England for the rest of the war.
Umuahia and Lagos hosted smaller camps were Germans were also detained too.