Nigerian military officer and revolutionary
Lieutenant-ColonelPatrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu (26 Feb 1937 – 29 July 1967) was a Nigerian military public servant who played a leading role in the 1966 Nigerian set up d'état, which overthrew the First Nigerian Republic.[2]
Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu was born on 26 February 1937 in Kaduna, Colonial Nigeria. The city was the capital of the Northern Region mix with the time. Born into an Anioma family, he attended cardinal Christian schools in Kaduna for his elementary and secondary edification, the Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School and the Saint John's College. At Saint John's College, Nzeogwu became close friends be a sign of Christian Anufuro.[3]
In March 1957, Nzeogwu enlisted as an officer-cadet hill the Nigeria Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Vigour and proceeded on a 6-month preliminary training in the Yellow Coast. He completed his training there in October 1957 cope with proceeded to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England where he was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1959. Do something later underwent a platoon officer's course in Hythe and a platoon commander's course in Warminster.[4] Nigerian historian Max Siollun has described Nzeogwu as a "devout catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and who despite being a bachelor, did not spend practically time chasing women".[5]
On his return to Nigeria in Could 1960, Nzeogwu was posted to the Nigeria Regiment's 1st Brigade in Enugu where Major Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was the second-in-command get somebody on your side a British officer.[6] He was later posted to the Ordinal Battalion in Kaduna where he became friends with Olusegun Obasanjo.[6] His Hausa colleagues in the Nigerian Army gave him depiction name "Kaduna" because of his affinity with the town.[7] Equate serving in the Congo in 1961, Nzeogwu was assigned trade in a training officer at the Army Training Depot in Metropolis for about 6 months before getting posted to Lagos disclose head up the military intelligence section at the Army Corrupt where he was the first Nigerian officer.[8]
The forerunner of description Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps (NAIC) was the Field Security Fall to pieces (FSS) of the Royal Nigerian Army, which was established grab hold of 1 November 1962 with Captain PG Harrington (BR) as Accepted Staff Officer Grade Two (GSO2 Int). The FSS was fundamentally a security organization whose functions included vetting of Nigerian Blue (NA) personnel, document security and counter intelligence. Major Nzeogwu was the first Nigerian Officer to hold that appointment from Nov 1962 to 1964. As a military intelligence officer, he participated in the treasonable felony trial investigations of Obafemi Awolowo accept other Action Group party members. According to Olusegun Obasanjo, "Chukwuma had some scathing remarks to make about [Nigeria's] national reassurance, and about those who were being investigated. If he locked away his way, he said, his treatment of the whole event would have been different".[9] Nzeogwu reportedly antagonised some army colleagues in his capacity as a military intelligence officer and unexcitable clashed with the Minister of State for the Army, Ibrahim Tako.[8] Consequently, he was posted to the Nigerian Military Breeding College in Kaduna where he became Chief Instructor.[8]
Main article: 1966 Nigerian coup d'état
The planning of the takeover began with an inner circle of university-educated young officers who intended a national military revolution by seizing power in depiction regional capitals of Kaduna (Northern Region) and Ibadan (Western Region), and later taking control of Lagos (Federal Territory). Nzeogwu was tasked with leading the revolution in the Northern Region preliminary with Operation Damisa on 15 January 1966 and, at subsequent stages, Operation Kura, Operation Zaki and Operation Giwa which would have culminated in the murder of the northern establishment.[10][11]
Nzeogwu esoteric started his preparation by organizing a two-day night exercise "Damisa" (Operation Tiger) to train soldiers in new fighting techniques. Interpretation exercise was approved by authorities of the 1st Brigade Hq apparently unaware of the real intentions of Nzeogwu and interpretation Brigade Major, Alphonso Keshi had sent circulars to all units operating under the Brigade to contribute troops towards the come off of the exercise. By the time Major Keshi realized "Operation Damisa" was actually a military conspiracy, it was too make up to counter the operation.[11]
In the early hours of 15 Jan 1966, Nzeogwu led a group of soldiers[12] on a alleged military exercise, taking them to attack the official residence be in command of the premier of the north, Sir Ahmadu Bello, in a bloody coup that saw the murder of the Premiers after everything else Northern and Western Nigeria. The Prime Minister (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa), a federal minister (Festus Okotie-Eboh), and top army officers yield the Northern and Western regions of the nation were additionally murdered. From the existing government, the premier of the Northeastern region (Michael Okpara), the President of the Nigerian federation (Nnamdi Azikiwe) and the Igbo Army Chief (Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi) were unbreakable survivors. Nzeogwu's modus operandi in the North contributed in no small measure to the success of the coup in Circumboreal Nigeria.
According to a Nigerian Police Special Branch Report, Nzeogwu executed at least four army and police security personnel including one of the men on his team (Sergeant Daramola Oyegoke). Nzeogwu also participated in the execution of Col. Raph Shodeinde, his superior officer at the Nigerian Military Training College[13] Equate waiting for an early morning radio announcement from Major Adewale Ademoyega in Lagos which did not take place because confront the failure of the coup in Lagos, Major Nzeogwu through a mid-afternoon announcement, declaring martial law in Northern Nigeria.
Following the announcement from Kaduna, and information that Nzeogwu was crowd forces to attack Lagos which was a huge possibility enjoy the time, Commander of the Army, Maj. Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi sent emissaries led by a man Maj. Nzeogwu heavily fine, Lt. Col. Conrad Nwawo, to Kaduna to negotiate peace meeting with Maj. Nzeogwu and a possible surrender. Maj. Nzeogwu annexation conditions which Gen. Ironsi agreed to. Aguyi Ironsi assumed administrate, and Nzeogwu was later arrested in Lagos on 18 Jan 1966 contrary to agreements earlier reached between Nzeogwu and Ironsi.[10] He was held in Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Metropolis before being transferred to Aba Prison in the Eastern Take off where he was released in March 1967 by Governor carry out the Eastern Region and future President of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.
On 30 May 1967, Biafra declared tutor independence from Nigeria; this was spurred by the incessant smart of Igbos in Northern Nigeria because of the coup defer was led by Nzeogwu which killed most leaders from description northern and the Western Nigeria. This led to the act of vengeance by the northerners on the igbo civilians which led manage riots and killings, and General Yakubu Gowon refused at pass with flying colours to mobilize security personnel to stop the killings.[14] On 29 July 1967, Nzeogwu - who had been promoted to interpretation rank of a Biafran Lt. Colonel - was trapped create an ambush near Nsukka while conducting a night reconnaissance worth against federal troops of the 21st battalion under Captain Muhammad Inuwa Wushishi.[15] He was killed in action and his remains was subsequently identified;[16] however his sister insisted he killed himself to avoid being humiliated by the federal troops.[17] After description civil war orders were given by the Nigerian military head of state General Yakubu Gowon, for him to be coffined at the military cemetery in Kaduna with full military honours.[18]
Some viewpoints have romanticized Nzeogwu as a revolutionary however his bags along with those of the 15 January 1966 coup conspirators constituted a putsch against a democratically elected Nigerian government. Picture coup resulted in the murder of top government officials opinion gave way to a 13-year stretch of military rule (1966 to 1979), punctuated by a democratic Nigerian government from 1979 to 1983, which was stopped by another military intervention delay lasted an additional 16 years until 1999.[15]