An ominous anniversary.
The last week of July 1967 saw the passing of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. While everyone agrees that he passed away, there is still disagreement over how and by whose hands he passed away. All kinds of rumors and unfounded tales have circulated in conspiracy-ridden Nigeria, claiming that Nzeogwu was killed in a scheme orchestrated by Ojukwu to get rid of him or that he was killed while attempting to defect and join the federal army. The truth is much more commonplace as usual.
Nzeogwu In Prison.
Nzeogwu was detained by the military government of Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi at the notorious Kiri-Kiri maximum security prison in Lagos for his participation in Nigeria’s first military takeover. His accomplices were initially held there as well, but a large number of them were later transferred to prisons in the Eastern Region, including Majors Ifeajuna (Uyo prison), Ademoyega, Onwuatuegwu (Enugu prison), Captain Gbulie (Abakaliki prison), Major Chukwuka, and Captain Nwobosi (both Owerri prison). Among the conspirators, Nzeogwu was the only officer transferred to Aba prison. Nzeogwu stayed behind bars after Ironsi was toppled in July 1966 until he was freed in March 1967 by Lt-Colonel Ojukwu, the military governor of the Eastern Region.
Nzeogwu’s Clash With Ojukwu .
His activities were nevertheless limited after his release. He and Ojukwu did not agree on anything. Never having been a pro-secessionist, Nzeogwu. In an interview with Dennis Ejindu from 1967, he expressed the following ideas:
Secession would be foolish and even impractical. Even if the East wins its secession war, it will still be unable to secede. In my opinion, secession is bad, so if this nation splits apart, I’ll pack up and leave. Confederation is the best option as a stopgap in the current situation. We’ll achieve total unity eventually.
The interview did not go over well with Ojukwu, and the last official statements attributed to Nzeogwu before his death were those he made to Ejindu. As Nzeogwu made clear his desire for a united Nigeria, the relationship between Ojukwu and Nzeogwu grew increasingly strained. Nzeogwu was suspended from all military duties by Ojukwu in April 1967, despite the fact that a war between Nigeria and Biafra was about to break out.
Nzeogwu’s participation in a military training exercise that involved simulating a battle in Abakaliki and other Eastern Region towns served as the immediate pretext. Ojukwu forbade any additional such exercises after remembering how Nzeogwu had turned the nighttime training “Exercise Damissa” into a full-fledged coup the year before. Kaduna Nzeogwu and Ojukwu’s relationship deteriorated to the point where Ojukwu considered returning Nzeogwu to prison.
Nzeogwu admitted: in a letter he wrote to his friend Olusegun Obasanjo on June 17, 1967.
“There are many rumors about my relationships with Ojukwu, as you have no doubt heard. After what he did to my supporters in January 1966, we obviously have very different perspectives on the world. In addition, he is concerned about my standing among his own people. He was about to re-incarcerate me, but he backed off out of concern for the consequences. My ability to interact with the troops or work on the staff is currently prohibited. We have a gentleman’s agreement that I can go ahead and do whatever I want. “.
Amazingly, Nzeogwu was still fantasizing about reuniting Nigeria and reintroducing the Nigerian army at this late stage. He said, “I will create a new Nigerian army inside Biafra!! With Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and all other ethnic groups. “.
Kaduna Nzeogwu.
In equal measure, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu frightened and inspired. In the Eastern Region, a personality cult that verged on hero worship developed around him, and he was being praised as an invincible, immortal warrior. Nzeogwu was given the official rank of Brigadier in the Biafran army by Ojukwu, but he was not given any formal commands.
Nzeogwu was not the kind of person who could sit around and do nothing, even though he was not a formal member of the Biafran army command. It has been established that he acted impulsively and rebelliously toward senior officers. In his detailed description of Nzeogwu, Lt. Col. Patrick Anwunah said that.
“A young officer who is radical and internally insubordinate… Who was “full of his own ideas” and likely believed he knew the solutions to every issue. My impression of him at the time was that he could become disobedient and had no respect for senior officers. “.
Nzeogwu began conducting impromptu guerilla raids against the federal army after becoming irritated at being excluded from military duties. During these raids, he would hastily enlist the assistance of other soldiers. These raids and conscriptions may not have been approved by Ojukwu.
Nzeogwu was simultaneously admired and feared. His intelligence, friendliness, and charm won him admiration. His suicidal bravery made him feared. Nzeogwu’s conscription of junior Biafran foot soldiers was met with resistance. Nzeogwu’s conscription meant facing extreme danger on the front lines. Nzeogwu had the guts to breach enemy defenses, conduct reconnaissance, and engage the federal army in close combat. His bravery led him too far toward the end of July 1967.
Kaduna Nzeogwu’s passing away.
A reconnaissance mission had been launched by Nzeogwu in the Nsukka sector. He was moving in a cleverly modified Bedford truck that the Biafran engineers called a “Biafran Red Devil,” an improvised armored vehicle. Despite its impressive ingenuity, the vehicle was heavy. Federal troops from the 21st battalion surrounded the vehicle after it became immobile at a roadblock close to the University of Nigeria Nsukka campus. Captain Abubakar Gora was in charge of the troops, which started firing at the target.
The vehicle’s homemade armor withstood their bullets up until a terrifying 106mm recoilless rifle pierced its body. Ironically, Nzeogwu and other soldiers attacked and destroyed the official lodge of the Sardauna of Sokoto in January 1966 using a 106mm recoilless rifle, an anti-tank weapon.
Now the accounts start to differ. Olu Mamdap, a former military driver for General Domkat Bali, claims to have seen the incident and that Nzeogwu and the other “two or three” people in the car were killed while still inside. Mamdap asserts that until the bodies were dragged out, it was unknown that Nzeogwu was present.
Major-Generals Mohammed Shuwa and Abdullahi Shelleng, who weren’t there when Nzeogwu was killed but saw his body, asserted that Nzeogwu jumped out of the car as it was being fired upon, shouted in Hausa, and identified himself as Major Nzeogwu before being fatally shot. Along with Nzeogwu, Ojukwu’s mixed-race half-brother Tom Biggar was also murdered. After divorcing Sir Louis Odumegwu and getting married to a Biggar, a European, Ojukwu’s mother gave birth to Biggar.
Lieutenant Abdullahi Shelleng, who identified Nzeogwu’s body, gave the order to store it initially on the University of Nigeria campus in Nsukka. Nzeogwu’s eyes had been removed in what appears to have been a ritual mutilation by the time Shelleng arrived, though. Ironically, Nzeogwu’s former batman, according to Shelleng, was the soldier who shot Nzeogwu.
Later on, the body was delivered to the headquarters of the 1st Division in Makurdi, where the division’s commander Colonel Mohammed Shuwa informed the head of state Major-General Gowon. Nzeogwu was now technically an enemy soldier who had been killed in battle with the Nigerian army, but Gowon still insisted that his body be flown to Kaduna and buried with full military honors while the war in the Eastern Region raged on.
Nzeogwu was still regarded by federal and northern troops even after his death. He was referred to by Domkat Bali as:.
An officer who is well-liked, charismatic, and disciplined who is well-respected by his coworkers. We believed that he was a genuinely patriotic officer who organized the 1966 coup with the best of intentions but was let down by his collaborators. At least he wasn’t used to constantly being found in the company of women messing around with them in the officers mess, which was a pastime of many young officers then. He would not have been killed if we had managed to capture him alive. He would have likely been imprisoned for his involvement in the January 15 coup, tried, and then released, in my opinion. It was regrettable that he passed away. ”.