IBB Shares What He Did When He Saw a Wounded Soldier During Biafran War
- Former military president Ibrahim Babangida recounted a courageous moment from the Biafra War in his autobiography, A Journey in Service
- He described how he saved his wounded friend, Captain Garba Duba, during the intense Battle of Enugu in 1967
- Babangida reflected on the act of bravery, emphasising the importance of evacuating a wounded comrade to safety amidst fire
Niger state, Nigeria – Former military president Ibrahim Babangida has shared a courageous moment from the Biafra War when he saved a fellow soldier wounded in battle.
In his newly released autobiography, A Journey in Service, Babangida narrated how his friend fell in battle and his impulsive decision to save him.
Source: UGC
Battle of Enugu
Babangida recounted the events during the attempt to capture Enugu after the fall of Nsukka.
On September 12, 1967, Lt-Col. Theophilus Danjuma, who had recently taken command of the detachment of the 1st Division at the Nsukka front, began the advance on Enugu with a broad front of seven battalions.
As they approached Agbani in today's Enugu State, they came under heavy attack from the Biafrans, forcing them to retreat.
Babangida saw from a distance that his childhood friend, Captain Garba Duba, had taken a hit and was bleeding and writhing in pain.
Despite the intense enemy fire, Babangida, driven by a sudden release of adrenaline, crawled across the field and dragged Duba to safety. They immediately pulled him to the rear before he was airlifted to a hospital.
Reflecting on the act of courage
Babangida described this attempt to save Duba as one of his early close shaves with death during the war.
In the book, he wrote:
“In our attempt to capture Enugu after the fall of Nsukka, Lt- Col. Theophilus Danjuma, who had only just relieved Sule Apollo of the command of the detachment of 1st Division at the Nsukka front, began the advance on Enugu on September 12, 1967. Colonel Danjuma’s advance was a broad front of seven battalions, 4th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and the 82nd (with some 20,000 troops as reinforcement), to make it difficult for the Biafrans to pin us down.
“Just as we approached Agbani in today’s Enugu State, we came under heavy attack from the Biafrans. The attack was so intense that we had to retreat. As I turned around, I could see from a distance
“The Nigerian Civil War and the NDA Teaching Years that my childhood friend, Captain Garba Duba, had taken a hit. He was down, bleeding and writhing in pain. You could see that he was in deep trouble. But the enemy fire was so intense that it would have been foolhardy to move close to him, let alone attempt to save him. And then, suddenly, as if consumed by a sudden release of adrenaline into my bloodstream, which may have also blinded my receptors to the dangers from the barrage of enemy fire around me, I impulsively crawled across the field and dragged Duba away towards us. We immediately pulled him out to the rear before he was airlifted to a hospital.
“This attempt to save Duba was one of my early close shaves with death during the war. Looking back now, I don’t know why I did it! It was crazy!! It was clear that the danger was enormous, and it’s probable that if I hadn’t done it, perhaps someone else would have stepped in to save Duba. But at that moment, what mattered the most was that we needed to evacuate him to safety. We needed to save his life. It was not about how leaving a wounded colleague behind could affect the troop’s morale. While that may have driven me, I was convinced that my action, complicated as it seemed at the time, was the decent thing to do. One of the rules I wholeheartedly imbibed as a soldier and an officer is this: as much as possible, never leave behind a wounded or even dead colleague in a war situation.”
IBB shares his father’s job
Legit.ng earlier reported that former military president Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has shared insights into his father’s occupation and the exact moment his parents divorced in his newly released autobiography, A Journey in Service.
Babangida disclosed that his parents divorced after the birth of his sister and then returned to Wushishi, a local government area in Niger state.
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Source: Legit.ng
