Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Museum Bauchi.

Patrice Lumumba: A hero without a grave, the horror they created on our land still tortures our minds!

After Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885, 'DR' Congo 🇨🇩, the richest land on Earth was given exclusively as a personal property to the Royal Crown of Belgium 🇧🇪 King Leopold II. This exclusive right of ownership covered not only the land and the resources beneath it, but also the humans and their labour.

During the total control of the Belgium crown over Congo, a half of DR Congo population (15 Million) were killed on the orders of Kings Leopold II as a means to control the population in order that he can make the maximum profit from the vastly resources of the country without spending much of the population which were his personal property!

At independence of the DR Congo in 1960, only 11 individuals of the population of 15 million of the th DR Congo had University degree or were university graduates. YES, DR Congo had only 11 graduates at independence, the over a hundred year rule of Belgium, ensured that the population of DRC are strictly prevented from acquiring any for of education or skills. Because providing education or skills to the people will make the people unfit to be slaves or be exploited.

This means that, the newly independent Congo and the first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba had to rely on the same oppressive system to manage everything. The government at independent had to rely on Belgium personnel and forces in critical areas such as communication and military defence (he had no secret of his good intentions for his country and he had no defence to protect him).

Patrice Lumumba was totally at the mercy of the Colonial Belgium. It was no suprising that they were able to kill him and dissolved his body in acid in the very country he was serving as a Prime Minister. Until today, there is no grave yard for this iconic Africa hero except a single tooth which was returned from Belgium to the Congo in the year 2020.

RIP a hero without a grave😭😭😭

There is no expiration date for crime and nothing remains constant forever!

Join the African Continental Unity Party - ACUP let us all build Africa together, register your membership at www.africanacup.org

Late Capt. Kyari Magumeri From Borno was the first Nigerian to be promoted to the rank of CAPTAIN in British Army (1953) After making a gallant performance in 1st and 2nd WW .

Born in 1897 in Borno, Nigeria, Chari Magumeri enlisted in a colonial unit of the Imperial German Army at the age of sixteen during The Great War and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for bravery in the field against the British in Northern Cameroon. The Germans promoted him to the rank of sergeant. When the British occupied part of that territory, Magumeri was inducted into the West African Frontier Force in 1917. He served in 5th Bn The Nigerian Regiment, in which his father had served for twenty-six years, and has been described as distinguishing himself, which would have pleased his father, presuming the latter were still alive. One wonders what Chari Magumeri's father would have thought of his son's enlistment in the German army. In the photo (posted below because of dynamic page link problems), RSM Magumeri is wearing the ribands of the MM, BEM, BWM, VM, 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Burma Star, Defence Medal, War Medal with MID Oakleaf, 1937 Coronation Medal and the Army LSGC Medal. He clearly qualified for The Defence Medal during his time in India and in Abyssinia. One wonders if he still had his German documents and his 1914 EK2 or if these were confiscated from him in 1917 after the WWI. He would have had every right to wear the 1914 EK2 as Civilian after he retired. He would also have been eligible for the 1934 "Hindenburg Cross". One wonders if any former Askari applied to the N**i government for their 1914-1918 “Ehrenkreuze”. By 1928, Magumeri was RSM of 3rd Battalion The Nigerian Regiment. During WW2, RSM Magumeri won the MM in the 1940-1941 Abyssinian (Ethiopian) Campaign. The regiment was later transferred to India with 81st West African Division, fighting in the Naga Hills and in Burma with the 14th Army, where RSM Magumeri MM picked up an MID. He also received the BEM in 1944 for his long and excellent service. Returning to Nigeria after the war, RSM Magumeri MM BEM MID was involved in training duties and was promoted to Captain on retirement from the service in 1953. His name remains revered in Nigeria amongst those Nigerians with a sense of pride in their nation and its history but until recently, there were no military establishments named after him, perhaps because his achievements pre-dated independence, his part in the shaping of a new generation of Nigerian soldiers aside.What an impressive-looking soldier Maigumeri was! An Army barracks has now been named after him in Lokoja.

The below photograph was snapped on the 21st May 1953, Royal Sergeant Major Chari Magumeri, a member of the Nigerian Regiment, with Lieutenant Colonel M M Davie, at Woolwich Barracks, London. The regiment is part of the colonial contingent which took part in a parade during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

May His Gentle Soul Rest In Prefect Peace .

Shehun Borno Abubakar Garbai, cikin shigar yaki ta sarakunan Barno. Yayi sarautar daga 1902-1922, Allah ya jikansa.

A tribute to Sir Kashim Ibrahim (A Governor of all the present day 19 Northern States):

Sir Shettima Kashim Ibrahim (10 June 1910 – 25 July 1990) was a Kanuri politician who was head of the Native Administration in Borno and was a minister for Social Services in the 1950s. He held the traditional title of Waziri of the Emirate of Borno after two previous Waziris had been forced to resign as a result of scandals in the Borno local administration.

He was a close associate of Sir Ahmadu Bello,late Alhaji Mai Deribe and late Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim (Waziri minister/uncle Waziri).In view of their strong ties Alhaji Mai Deribe named one of his Son (Gwamna or Kashim) after him and he later married off one of his daughters to his Son while late Waziri Ibrahim married one of the daughters of Sir Kashim Ibrahim in a record breaking Kanuri traditional marriage ceremony where Sir Kashim gave 1000 (One thousand) pieces of Kanuri traditional Gowns (set of cloths) referred to as the Kuluwu or Baban-riga (Malum-malum) in the Hausa language. At his death late Waziri Ibrahim received visitors coming across Nigeria and beyond that paid condolence visits to his family.
Ibrahim was born in Gargar Ward, behind the now Premier Cenima in Yerwa (Maiduguri) to the family of Ibrahim Lakanmi. He started his education learning Arabic and Quran before attending Borno Provincial School in 1922. In 1925, he was admitted into the Katsina Training College and finished his studies with a teacher's certificate in 1929. He started working as a teacher in 1929 at the Borno Middle School and by 1933, he had become a Provincial Visiting Teacher. He was later promoted to a Senior Visiting Teacher and education officer for the province of Borno. He was conferred with the title of Shettima of Borno in 1935 and for a while he was known as Shettima Kashim. He joined politics in 1951-52, when he was elected into the Northern Regional Assembly, he was nominated from the North as a cabinet nominee. Thereafter, he was appointed the Federal minister for Social Services and later that of Education.

He also served as the Governor of the Northern region of Nigeria, making him a Governor of all the present day 19 states of Northern Nigeria.

In 1956, he was appointed as the Waziri of Borno by the Shehu.Kashim Ibrahim, became the Governor of the Northern region in 1962, holding office until the military coup of 16 January 1966 that brought Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi to power. He was appointed a CBE in 1960 and knighted KCMG in 1962.
He became a visiting Teacher from 1938 to 1947 and Education officer from 1947 to 1949. His educational work included considerable expansion of schools in Borno, the creation of the Maiduguri Teachers college in 1952, and the writing of primary school textbooks in Kanuri and the English languages. He was a great believer in Western education, which all his children received. Shettima Kashim, as he was always known then, naturally became one of the more prominent Northern Region politicians. Among the founders of the Northern People’s Congress {N.P.C.}, he was elected to the Northern Region House of Assembly in 1951 and from there to the Federal House of Representatives, where he served from 1952 to 1955 later he was in the Federal Senate. He was Federal Minister of social services in 1952-3 and Federal minister of Education from 1953 to 1955. In 1955 he joined Sir Ahmadu Bello’s Northern region Government in Kaduna as minister of Social welfare, cooperatives and surveys. In 1956, however, he returned to Maiduguri to assume the traditional office of Waziri (Prime-Minister) under His Royal Highness, the Shehu of Borno. He carried out very necessary reforms in the traditional local government. He was pioneer chairman of the provisional council of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, for the two years before the new university opened in 1962. Supported by Sir Ahmadu Bello, he laid solid foundation for the University in Zaria. In 1962 he was appointed the first Nigerian Governor of the Northern Region. He was knighted by the Queen of England in the same year. That rule was ended with the unfortunate killing of the Premier in the first coup of 1966. Sir Kashim was arrested later released. He remained indoors in Maiduguri thereafter without attending any public functions. Sir,Kashim Ibrahim served as Chancellor of the University of Ibadan from 1966 to 1977, and then as chancellor of the University of Lagos from 1977 to 1984. He did not return to politics. He acquired little material wealth and had only one house in Maiduguri. He donated a large part of this house for the building of schools. He had to sue the Government for his pension as former Governor of the Northern Region. When he died on 25 July,1990 the high respect he commanded was shown by the great gathering of prominent Nigerians and ordinary people at his Funeral in Maiduguri including Alhaji Shehu Shagari,General Sani Abacha , General Ibrahim Babangida and many others.

Alhaji (Sir) Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa remains the only Nigerian Head-of-State to have written and published a novel (novella), Shaihu Umar: A Novel About Slavery in Africa.

As a teenager, Tafawa-Balewa was never interested in politics. He wanted to be a teacher and a novelist. In 1933, at the age of 20, his novella, Shaihu Umar written in Hausa, came third in a literary competition organised by the colonial education department in Zaria.

The novella is a bildungsroman that parallels Shaihu Umar’s journey amongst an enslaver’s caravans across the Sahara Desert with a person’s journey through life from birth, wedding, child-nurturing to death.

This 144-page novella (the author's only major literary work and a bestseller in British Nothern Nigeria) was first published in 1955, in Hausa, and then translated and published in English in 1967, a year after he was assassinated in Nigeria's first military coup.

Let remember one Great builder....
Life, legacy of Zaria’s legendary builder
Muhammadu Durugu, also known as Babban Gwani, Zaria’s master builder of the 19th century.
In Zaria city many people still believe that an Angel was present whenever Babban Gwani was constructing the many mosques that brought him fame, the attention of Kings, and sudden death from the same group that had initially praised and feted him. Such are the kind of paradoxes that define the life of geniuses all over the world. The possessive temperament of the wealthy and powerful is also vividly hinted at here, as well as the capacity of the same group to bring total eclipse to both art and artists. On the other hand the pure love shown him by the ordinary folk is also captured in popular traditions very alive today in northern Nigeria, which have helped to keep the memory of this genius aglow.
“Many people today believe that if someone builds a house for them, if such a person is not a descendant of Babban Gwani, it will be as though a house has not been built.” Such is the reverence with which the man is held. Babban Gwani built mosques and palaces in Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Zaria, to mention a few. He built the Zaria Juma’a Mosque. It was an amazing experience. This is a 19th century architectural masterpiece which has many arches, pillars and columns, which stretch all the way to the ground. The mosque is silent just as the visitors are quiet, stunned by the sheer power of the extraordinary interior. Something in the architecture seems to shut out the 21st century sounds outside. Thus, one could in a sense go back to the 19th century during the visit in a perfect and complete sense. The effect of the mosque was so sublime; I had to request to go back in when we were leaving, just to take in the powerful impressions once more. This was granted. At a point above an arch is an imprint of a palm, said to be that of Babban Gwani. It is rather large, and seems to show that the genius must have had extremely large hands. He might have needed these massive palms as an aid in the light of the physical tasks he had to carry out on earth.

A famous motion
In August 1950 an even occurred in the Northern House of Assembly at Kaduna which revealed the extent to which Abubakar Tafawa Balewa had courage and fearlessness and the degree to which he placed his love for the welfare of the masses above the prospects of personal advancement and the continued goodwill of his patrons.
He stood up in the House and made a dramatic speech. He began by quoting a passage from Lord Lugard’s Political Memoranda on the nature of the Indirect Rule which said: “There are not two sets of rulers, British and natives, working either separately or in co-operation, but a single government in which native chiefs have well defined duties and an acknowledged status equally with British Officers. Their duties should never conflict and should overlap as little as possible.”
Abubakar then proceeded to show that reasonable as this general principle sounded, it had never been implemented. The emirs and chiefs, he contended, had no well-defined place and no one in the hierarchy knew his rights, obligations or powers. The Chief’s Councilors were often too frightened to give him unpalatable advice or take a line which the Chief did not agree to. Abubakar pointed out that Northern elements with Western education were not accorded their proper place where they could use their new knowledge to the best advantage.
“Our natural rulers” Abubakar said, “should realize that western education and world conditions are fast creating a new class of people in the north. That this new class must exist is certain, and the natural rulers, whom the north must retain at all cost, should, instead of suspecting it, tryto find it proper accommodation.”
Calling for the abolition of the institution of “Sole Native Authority” which he said was inconsistent with tradition, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa concluded his memorable speech by moving a motion for the setting up of a commission to investigate the system and make recommendations for “modernization and reform.”
This speech raised many eyebrows. Many people were surprised not so much by the theme of the speech as by the fact that it came from the lips of a quiet, soft-spoken man, acknowledged by everybody to be a level-headed, well-mannered moderate. No one hitherto had ventured to question publicly in such blunt terms the acceptability of the Native Authority Administration based on the doctrine of Indirect Rule.
So alarmed were some of the members of the House of Chiefs that a very senior one among them was reported to have said, “This is what happens when you let loose your servants! This is our reward!”
But the schoolmaster from Bauchi, the upshot of humble origins, did not seem perturbed by the gravity of the debate he was introducing into the chamber.
The speech was supported by Yahaya Ilorin, the Wali of Bornu, Ribadu of Adamawa and Shettima Kashim (later, Sir Kashim Ibrahim) from Bornu, all headmasters of Provincial Middle Schools. They welcomed this courageous speech and added some corroborative details of their own.
The debate on Abubakar’s motion showed that the House would split in two ranks, the officials opposing and the progressives led by Abubakar supporting the motion. Eventually the House divided on the motion and when the votes were counted, it was carried by one vote! (19 officials against, 20 un-officials in favour).
Subsequently the governor appointed a commission which reported to a Joint Selected Committee of the Northern Regional Council. Among the recommendations contained in the commission’s report were the abolition of the Sole Native Authorities and establishment of District Councils at the Village, and town level, as well as Advisory Councils at the Native Authority Level.

Lord Frederick Lugard with Northern Nigeria's traditional Emirs at the London Zoo, 1934.

Waiting to be presented to King George V of England, Lugard took his guests to the Zoo for sightseeing.

February 13th 1976 Coup .. ( Me :- If Dimka had succeeded in killing OBJ, IBB, TY DANJUMA, Nigeria would have been better than Canada by now, RIP Dimka)....

When Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka of the Nigeria Army Physical Training Corps stepped out of his official residence on Macpherson Road, Ikoyi, in the early hours of February 13, 1976, he had one agenda in mind; the killing of the then Head of State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed.

He achieved that criminal act by gunning down the Kano-born head of state a few minutes after the latter left the Dodan Barracks, Obalende, the official seat of the Federal Military Government at the time.

Muhammed’s official black Mercedes Benz was riddled with bullets near a petrol station on Bank Road, (now Murtala Muhammed Drive) opposite the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi. Killed along with him were, his ADC, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa and driver.

After the assassination, Dimka had made a broadcast at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) studio in the following words;

‘’Good morning fellow Nigerians, This is Lt. Col. B. Dimka of the Nigerian Army calling.

I bring you good tidings. Murtala Muhammed’s deficiency has been detected. His government is now overthrown by the young revolutionaries. Any attempt to foil these plans from any quarters will be met with death.

Everyone should be calm. Please stay by your radio for further announcements. All borders, air and sea ports are closed until further notice. Curfew is imposed from 6am to 6pm. Thank you. We are all together.”

Two days after Muhammed was assassinated, Dimka was declared wanted for treason and murder by military authorities. He was eventually caught at a checkpoint at Abakaliki on March 5, 1976 and brought to Lagos the following day.

On March 6, 1976, the Federal Government promptly issued a statement on his arrest as follows: ‘’His arrest followed a massive manhunt operation mounted by a combined team of the Army and Police in the area.

‘’The previous day, Lt. Col Dimka had checked in at a local hotel in Afikpo under the name of Mr. C. Godwin of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Enugu. Later, on his request, the hotel manager secured for him a girl, Miss. Beatrice Agboli, with whom to spend the night.

‘’A few hours later, the local Police security was alerted and they closed up on him. At about 10.30 pm, he bolted away through the window of the toilet of his hotel room into a nearby thick bush, abandoning his car with a dangling registration number ECC 6253.”

‘’The continuous joint manhunt operation by the Army and Police resulted in his subsequent arrest near Abakaliki.’’

Barely few hours after he was brought to Lagos, he was interrogated by the military Board of Inquiry led by Major Gen. E. O. Abisoye.

However while Dimka was being quizzed, 32 people including Major Gen. Illiya Bisalla, who had already been tried for their roles in the attempted coup were executed in Lagos on March 11, 1976.

The only civilian executed among them was Abdulkarim Zakari, a graduate of University of Ibadan, who was said to have led Dimka and others into the studios of the NBC on February 13, 1976. The broadcaster was also cited as the man who signed for martial music records from the NBC library the previous night.

Just as the first batch of coup plotters were executed, Dimka’s trial begun after he was presented to the press on March 11, 1976.

Handcuffed, Dimka who wore a katftan dress watched journalists listen to a tape recording of his appearance before the board of inquiry for about five minutes. He confirmed that the voice on the tape was his own and that it was a recording made at his interrogation. He emphasised that the statement was not made under duress.

According to a Daily Times publication, ‘’13 Years of Military Rule 1966-79’’ the highlights of Dimka’s confessional statements included, ‘’Frankly speaking, I should say the beginning of the coup idea was around January this year (1976).’’

He said he had discussions with some persons including former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon in London and when he returned to the country, he decided to assign responsibilities to members of the young revolutionaries conscripted into the plan.

But Gowon, who was in exile at the time denied any prior knowledge of the coup attempt.

Dimka also claimed the coup plot was hatched by young officers who resolved not to involve any Lieutenant Colonel and above except himself in a bid to effect a change of government.

In his confessional statement, he said, Gen. Bisalla had complained to him and expressed his frustration that despite being a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), each time there was a decision to be taken, he was either sent to one place or the other.

Dimka said ‘’ Bisalla told me that whatever will happen he want us to go ahead, and work out the details.’’

Explaining how responsibilities were distributed, the leader of the coup plot said ‘’ When I met Major Rabo, he said that he had finally distributed responsibilities. Major Rabo was for target one- Head of State, Lt. Dauda was for target two- Lt. Gen. Obasanjo, Lawrence Garba was for target three- Lt. Gen. Danjuma.

‘’Major Gagara was for Ilorin and Sokoto, Jos had nobody. The main centres of operations were Kaduna, Ibadan, Benin where there are Radio stations’’.

He also listed the targets of attack, that is, those to be eliminated as the Head of State, the four GOCs, Col. Babangida, Col. Bajowa, Col. Mohammed of Sokoto, Col. Ibrahim Taiwo of Kwara, Col. Abdullahi of Jos and Col. Jemibewon of Ibadan.’’

Dimka also confessed before the military board of inquiry how Zakari showed him the NBC broadcasting section on February 12, a day before the coup attempt.

On how the ex-Head of State was killed, he said ‘’ I stood at George Street with Major Rabo to wait until such a time when the Head of State’s car was coming out. There, one Capt. Malaki who was to give the warning order. Capt. Malaki was to be on the watch to signal Major Rabo and Lt. William Seri on the approach of the vehicle. So I came up and I was at the petrol station waiting.

‘’I was behind while we were talking when the Commander –in-Chief’s car passed. In fact, I did not even see it until when Malaki said the car has passed. So, we rushed in and then followed and the car was held somewhere just opposite the petrol station.

‘’Lt. Seri was approaching the car when we stopped and Major Rabo rushed to him, then the firing started. ‘’

Dimka confessed that after the Head of State was assassinated, he went to the NBC and made his broadcast that the young revolutionaries had taken over the government.

At the end of his trial, coup leader and a number of others were found guilty of treason and murder. Their death sentences were confirmed by the Supreme Military Council.

Dimka and seven others were eventually executed by firing squad at Kirikiri Prisons on May 15, 1976, for their part in the abortive coup. Also executed among the squad was the former Governor of the then Benue Plateau State, Joseph Gomwalk.

However, two NCOs, Sgt. Clement Yildar and Corporal Dauda Usman escaped and were never found. They were declared wanted by the authorities.

The situation led to the promulgation by Olusegun Obasanjo regime of certain retrospective decrees and new military laws justifying mass executions for coup participation.

FRANCIS FAMOROTI.

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Fellow Nigerians,
This is Lt. Col. BS Dimka. I now explain why we the Young Revolutionaries of the Armed Forces have found it necessary to overthrow the six month old government of Murtala. On the 29th July 1975 the Government of General Gowon was overthrown. Some of the reasons given for the change were:

a. Corruption
b. Indecision
c. Arrest and detention without trial
d. Weakness on the part of the Head of State
e. Maladministration in general and a host of other malpractice.

Every honest Nigerian will agree with me that since the change over of government there has not been any physical development in the whole country generally.

All we have is arbitrary dismissal of innocent Nigerians who have contributed in no less amount to the building of this great nation.

A Professor was arrested, detained, dismissed and later taken to court on an article which every honest Nigerian will agree that all the points contained in that article were 100% truth.

The sad point about it all is that those who initiated the retirement or dismissal exercise are the worst offenders.

You will be informed about the ill-gotten wealth in my next announcement.

The acting General Manager of the Nigerian Airways was invited to the Dodan Barracks and detained without trial.

The people of this country have been living in a state of fear.

The Armed Forces promotion exercise is still fresh in your minds.

Whatever reasons they have for the promotion one can only say that they are ambitious.

They in fact took over power to enrich themselves.

We are convinced that some of the programmes announced for a return to civilian rule are made to favor a particular group.

To mention only one. Maitama Sule is a politician. But has been appointed Chief of Commissioners for Complaints.

This is to prepare him for the next political head at all cost.

How many of you know that Maitama Sule is on a salary of N17,000 p.a.?

In view of what I have just said and a lot more which time will not permit me to mention, we the Young Revolutionaries have once again taken over the Government to save Murtala from total disgrace and prevent him from committing further blunders and totally collapsing the country before he runs away in the name of retirement to enjoy the huge fortune he got through bribe which he has now stored outside this country.

I believe that charity should begin at home.

Please stay by your radio for further announcements.

We are all together.

Courtesy of DawoduFebruary 13th 1976 Coup

When Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka of the Nigeria Army Physical Training Corps stepped out of his official residence on Macpherson Road, Ikoyi, in the early hours of February 13, 1976, he had one agenda in mind; the killing of the then Head of State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed.

He achieved that criminal act by gunning down the Kano-born head of state a few minutes after the latter left the Dodan Barracks, Obalende, the official seat of the Federal Military Government at the time.

Muhammed’s official black Mercedes Benz was riddled with bullets near a petrol station on Bank Road, (now Murtala Muhammed Drive) opposite the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi. Killed along with him were, his ADC, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa and driver.

After the assassination, Dimka had made a broadcast at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) studio in the following words;

‘’Good morning fellow Nigerians, This is Lt. Col. B. Dimka of the Nigerian Army calling.

I bring you good tidings. Murtala Muhammed’s deficiency has been detected. His government is now overthrown by the young revolutionaries. Any attempt to foil these plans from any quarters will be met with death.

Everyone should be calm. Please stay by your radio for further announcements. All borders, air and sea ports are closed until further notice. Curfew is imposed from 6am to 6pm. Thank you. We are all together.”

Two days after Muhammed was assassinated, Dimka was declared wanted for treason and murder by military authorities. He was eventually caught at a checkpoint at Abakaliki on March 5, 1976 and brought to Lagos the following day.

On March 6, 1976, the Federal Government promptly issued a statement on his arrest as follows: ‘’His arrest followed a massive manhunt operation mounted by a combined team of the Army and Police in the area.

‘’The previous day, Lt. Col Dimka had checked in at a local hotel in Afikpo under the name of Mr. C. Godwin of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Enugu. Later, on his request, the hotel manager secured for him a girl, Miss. Beatrice Agboli, with whom to spend the night.

‘’A few hours later, the local Police security was alerted and they closed up on him. At about 10.30 pm, he bolted away through the window of the toilet of his hotel room into a nearby thick bush, abandoning his car with a dangling registration number ECC 6253.”

‘’The continuous joint manhunt operation by the Army and Police resulted in his subsequent arrest near Abakaliki.’’

Barely few hours after he was brought to Lagos, he was interrogated by the military Board of Inquiry led by Major Gen. E. O. Abisoye.

However while Dimka was being quizzed, 32 people including Major Gen. Illiya Bisalla, who had already been tried for their roles in the attempted coup were executed in Lagos on March 11, 1976.

The only civilian executed among them was Abdulkarim Zakari, a graduate of University of Ibadan, who was said to have led Dimka and others into the studios of the NBC on February 13, 1976. The broadcaster was also cited as the man who signed for martial music records from the NBC library the previous night.

Just as the first batch of coup plotters were executed, Dimka’s trial begun after he was presented to the press on March 11, 1976.

Handcuffed, Dimka who wore a katftan dress watched journalists listen to a tape recording of his appearance before the board of inquiry for about five minutes. He confirmed that the voice on the tape was his own and that it was a recording made at his interrogation. He emphasised that the statement was not made under duress.

According to a Daily Times publication, ‘’13 Years of Military Rule 1966-79’’ the highlights of Dimka’s confessional statements included, ‘’Frankly speaking, I should say the beginning of the coup idea was around January this year (1976).’’

He said he had discussions with some persons including former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon in London and when he returned to the country, he decided to assign responsibilities to members of the young revolutionaries conscripted into the plan.

But Gowon, who was in exile at the time denied any prior knowledge of the coup attempt.

Dimka also claimed the coup plot was hatched by young officers who resolved not to involve any Lieutenant Colonel and above except himself in a bid to effect a change of government.

In his confessional statement, he said, Gen. Bisalla had complained to him and expressed his frustration that despite being a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), each time there was a decision to be taken, he was either sent to one place or the other.

Dimka said ‘’ Bisalla told me that whatever will happen he want us to go ahead, and work out the details.’’

Explaining how responsibilities were distributed, the leader of the coup plot said ‘’ When I met Major Rabo, he said that he had finally distributed responsibilities. Major Rabo was for target one- Head of State, Lt. Dauda was for target two- Lt. Gen. Obasanjo, Lawrence Garba was for target three- Lt. Gen. Danjuma.

‘’Major Gagara was for Ilorin and Sokoto, Jos had nobody. The main centres of operations were Kaduna, Ibadan, Benin where there are Radio stations’’.

He also listed the targets of attack, that is, those to be eliminated as the Head of State, the four GOCs, Col. Babangida, Col. Bajowa, Col. Mohammed of Sokoto, Col. Ibrahim Taiwo of Kwara, Col. Abdullahi of Jos and Col. Jemibewon of Ibadan.’’

Dimka also confessed before the military board of inquiry how Zakari showed him the NBC broadcasting section on February 12, a day before the coup attempt.

On how the ex-Head of State was killed, he said ‘’ I stood at George Street with Major Rabo to wait until such a time when the Head of State’s car was coming out. There, one Capt. Malaki who was to give the warning order. Capt. Malaki was to be on the watch to signal Major Rabo and Lt. William Seri on the approach of the vehicle. So I came up and I was at the petrol station waiting.

‘’I was behind while we were talking when the Commander –in-Chief’s car passed. In fact, I did not even see it until when Malaki said the car has passed. So, we rushed in and then followed and the car was held somewhere just opposite the petrol station.

‘’Lt. Seri was approaching the car when we stopped and Major Rabo rushed to him, then the firing started. ‘’

Dimka confessed that after the Head of State was assassinated, he went to the NBC and made his broadcast that the young revolutionaries had taken over the government.

At the end of his trial, coup leader and a number of others were found guilty of treason and murder. Their death sentences were confirmed by the Supreme Military Council.

Dimka and seven others were eventually executed by firing squad at Kirikiri Prisons on May 15, 1976, for their part in the abortive coup. Also executed among the squad was the former Governor of the then Benue Plateau State, Joseph Gomwalk.

However, two NCOs, Sgt. Clement Yildar and Corporal Dauda Usman escaped and were never found. They were declared wanted by the authorities.

The situation led to the promulgation by Olusegun Obasanjo regime of certain retrospective decrees and new military laws justifying mass executions for coup participation.

FRANCIS FAMOROTI.

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Fellow Nigerians,
This is Lt. Col. BS Dimka. I now explain why we the Young Revolutionaries of the Armed Forces have found it necessary to overthrow the six month old government of Murtala. On the 29th July 1975 the Government of General Gowon was overthrown. Some of the reasons given for the change were:

a. Corruption
b. Indecision
c. Arrest and detention without trial
d. Weakness on the part of the Head of State
e. Maladministration in general and a host of other malpractice.

Every honest Nigerian will agree with me that since the change over of government there has not been any physical development in the whole country generally.

All we have is arbitrary dismissal of innocent Nigerians who have contributed in no less amount to the building of this great nation.

A Professor was arrested, detained, dismissed and later taken to court on an article which every honest Nigerian will agree that all the points contained in that article were 100% truth.

The sad point about it all is that those who initiated the retirement or dismissal exercise are the worst offenders.

You will be informed about the ill-gotten wealth in my next announcement.

The acting General Manager of the Nigerian Airways was invited to the Dodan Barracks and detained without trial.

The people of this country have been living in a state of fear.

The Armed Forces promotion exercise is still fresh in your minds.

Whatever reasons they have for the promotion one can only say that they are ambitious.

They in fact took over power to enrich themselves.

We are convinced that some of the programmes announced for a return to civilian rule are made to favor a particular group.

To mention only one. Maitama Sule is a politician. But has been appointed Chief of Commissioners for Complaints.

This is to prepare him for the next political head at all cost.

How many of you know that Maitama Sule is on a salary of N17,000 p.a.?

In view of what I have just said and a lot more which time will not permit me to mention, we the Young Revolutionaries have once again taken over the Government to save Murtala from total disgrace and prevent him from committing further blunders and totally collapsing the country before he runs away in the name of retirement to enjoy the huge fortune he got through bribe which he has now stored outside this country.

I believe that charity should begin at home.

Please stay by your radio for further announcements.

We are all together