Babangida: Nigeria's Former Military Ruler Strongly Defends Igbos, Details Emerge

• On January 15, 1966, Nigeria witnessed her first coup when a group of young soldiers attacked democratic leaders
• The rebellion was later tagged an "Igbo coup" by other ethnic groups in the country due to the killing pattern
• In his recently-launched revealing memoir, 'A Journey in Service', seen by Legit.ng, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) refuted claims of ethnic agenda in the 1966 coup

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics and governance in Nigeria.

FCT, Abuja - Former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida has said Igbo people were not behind the bloody 1966 coup in Nigeria.

Legit.ng recalls that in the early hours of January 15, 1966, rebellious soldiers led Kaduna Nzeogwu—from Delta state—led a group of soldiers to kill 22 people, including the prime minister of Nigeria at the time, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; many senior politicians, senior army officers, their wives and guards.

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In ‘A Journey in Service: An Autobiography of Ibrahim Babangida’, the former Nigerian leader clarified that contrary to the narratives linking the coup to ethnic sentiments, the original intention of the coup plotters was to release Obafemi Awolowo from detention and install him as the president.

Meanwhile, the fact that then-head of state, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi, among top Igbo politicians and military officers, was not killed made many believe that it was an Igbo-inspired mutiny. But Babangida pointed out that several senior Igbo officers were also tragically killed during the attacks on January 15, 1966, adding that about four non-Igbo officers took part in the mutiny.

IBB, as Babangida is commonly called, said in his new book:

"As a young officer who saw all of this from a distance, probably, ethnic sentiments did not drive the original objective of the coup plotters.

“For instance, the head of the plotters, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, was only ‘Igbo’ in name. Born and raised in Kaduna, his immigrant parents were from Okpanam in today’s Delta state, which, in 1966, was in the old mid-western region. Nzeogwu spoke fluent Hausa and was as ‘Hausa’ as any! He and his original team probably thought, even if naively, that they could turn things around for the better in the country.

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“That said, it was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight. From that moment, the putsch was infiltrated by ‘outsiders’ to its supposed original intention, and it took on an unmistakably ethnic colouration, compounded by the fact that there were no related coup activities in the Eastern region.

“It should, however, be borne in mind that some senior officers of Igbo extraction were also victims of the January coup. For instance, my erstwhile Commander at the Reconnaissance Squadron in Kaduna, Lt-Col. Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, was brutally gunned down by his own ‘brother,’ Major Chris Anuforo, in the presence of his pregnant wife, at his 7 Point Road residence in Apapa, for merely being ‘a threat to the revolution’."

IBB added:

“It should also be remembered that some non-Igbo officers, like Major Adewale Ademoyega, Captain Ganiyu Adeleke, Lts Fola Oyewole, and Olafimihan, took part in the failed coup. Another officer of Igbo extraction, Major John Obienu, crushed the coup.

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“Those who argue that the original intention of the coup plotters was anything but ethnic refer to the fact that the initial purpose of the plotters was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo ‘from prison immediately after the coup and make him the executive provisional president of Nigeria.”

Read more about Babangida:

• 'How Abacha-led forces allegedly annulled June 12 without my authority', Babangida explains
• How Abacha plotted to overthrow me, kill Abiola, Babangida narrates
• Mixed reactions as Osinbajo narrates how Babangida installed and removed Buhari, video trends

Falana hits Babangida

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), recounted his ordeal under former military president, General Babangida’s regime.

Falana said Babangida detained him and other students for speaking up against his government, adding that Babangida deliberately killed his best man, Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa—contrary to the claim that the slain soldier was involved in a coup.

Source: Legit.ng