The History Of The Soldiers Who Never Made It Out Of Nigerias First Coup.
THE SOLDIERS WHO N€VER MADE IT OUT OF NIGERIA’S FIRST CO’UP
15 JANUARY 1966.
In the early hours of that Saturday morning, Nigeria’s first milit@ry co’up began.
Across Lagos, Kaduna and Ibadan, soldiers moved against senior political and milit@ry figures.
But behind the names usually remembered in the history books were men whose own lives came to a v!0lent end that night.
Some of Nigeria’s most senior milit@ry officers were among those k!ll€d.
And one of the most heartbreaking stories happened in Kaduna.
BRIGADIER SAMUEL ADEMULEGUN
Ademulegun was the comm@nder of the Nigerian Army’s 1st Brigade.
In the early hours of January 15, soldiers arrived at his residence.
They wanted the keys to the armoury.
Ademulegun r€fused.
According to accounts of what happened, the soldiers entered his bedroom, where he was with his wife, Lateefat.
She was eight months pregnant.
Accounts say she reportedly stood between her husband and the soldiers, hoping to prevent what was about to happen.
It did not.
Ademulegun and his pregnant wife were sh0t de@d in their bedroom.
Their unborn child also d!€d.
Their daughter, Solape Ademulegun-Agbi, was only six years old at the time and later recounted witnessing the k!ll!ng of her parents.
But Ademulegun was not the only senior officer who would not survive that Day
Among those k!ill€d were:
• Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari — Commander, 2nd Brigade
• Colonel Kur Mohammed — Chief of Staff, Nigerian Army
• Colonel Ralph Shodeinde — Deputy Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy
• Lieutenant-Colonel Abogo Largema — Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion
• Lieutenant-Colonel James Pam — Adjutant-General, Nigerian Army
• Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Unegbe — Quartermaster-General, Nigerian Army
These were not obscure men.
They were among the senior officers of Nigeria’s young Army.
Yet by the time the v?olence subsided, they were de@d.
The January 15 CO’UP also claimed the lives of politici@ns, police officers and civilians.
And eventually, Nigeria’s First Republic came to an end, with Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi becoming Head of State.
But when we remember January 15, 1966, it is easy to remember only the politicians and the co’up plotters.
There were also families who woke up that morning to find that their husb@nds, f@thers and loved ones would n€ver return.
Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun went to sleep beside his pregnant wife.
Neither of them would see another morning.
How many of these milit@ry officers had you heard about before today?
