Nzeogwu: Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu killed Sir Ahmadu Bello and his first wife, Hafsatu, who stood between him and her husband. He also killed some members of Sir Ahmadu Bello’s household and one of his own men, Sergeant Daramola Oyegoke, who refused to kill innocent civilians.
Major Nzeogwu died in unclear circumstances. Rumours were rife that he was actually killed by Lt. Colonel Ojukwu, who was said to have felt threatened by his wide popularity in the Republic of Biafra. But Ojukwu denied this.
The official version is that he was caught in an ambush by troops of the Nigerian Army, who killed him. He died on July 29, 1967. It was the first anniversary of the counter-coup to his own coup. Another coincidence?
Anuforo: Major Chris Anuforo was the most bloodthirsty of the mutineers. He killed the Minister of Finance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, and Lt. Colonels Kur Mohammed and Arthur Unegbe. When Major Humphrey Chukwuka refused to kill Lt. Colonel Pam, who had been responsible for his rapid rise in the army, Anuforo got angry and killed him.
The manner in which Anuforo killed Lt. Colonel Kur Mohammed was particularly evil. Kur Mohammed did not resist or beg for his life. Rather, he started praying without asking for permission, at which point Anuforo rained bullets on his back.
After I wrote about this, an unrepentant daughter of Major Chris Anuforo, named Mrs. Mary Ann Ihejieto, emailed me on Monday, January 8, 2024, and threatened my life. I disregarded her threats but published her email. And then, four days later, a gentleman with an accent that betrayed his ethnicity traced me to my jogging route and physically threatened me. I am undeterred.
Major Chris Anuforo was captured from Benin prison on August 6, 1966 (some reports say it happened the previous day) by Northern troops and tortured before he was killed.
Chukwuka: Major Humphrey Chukwuka was responsible for arresting Lt. Colonel James Pam. But he refused to kill him. He was almost killed by Major Anuforo.
After the coup failed, Lt. Colonel Ojukwu released Humphrey Chukwuka from prison in Eastern Nigeria, and he fought for Biafra. He was arrested after the war and jailed in 1970 until he was released in 1975 by the then Head of State, Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo.
Okafor: Major Don Okafor was a confidante of Prime Minister Tafawa-Balewa and practically lived at his house. He was the one who betrayed the PM’s movement to Ifeajuna, who killed him. In that sense, he had blood on his hand. He was also the one who went to arrest and kill Brigadier Maimalari, but the Brigadier escaped and was later killed by Ifeajuna.
He was killed during the July 29, 1966 counter-coup because he was unfortunate enough to be jailed at Abeokuta, where the coup began. His death was gruesome because he was buried alive.
Onwuategwu: Major Timothy Onwuatuegwu killed Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun and his eight-month-pregnant wife, Latifah Ademulegun, who stood in front of him, thinking that Onwuatuegwu would not shoot a pregnant woman. He did. His shots awakened their two other children, who rushed into their bedroom to see their blood-soaked bodies.
Onwuategwu was killed on January 15, 1970, the day Biafra surrendered. The circumstances of his death are unclear, but it is believed that he took advantage of Colonel Obasanjo’s kindness and tried to kill him in the process of surrender, and was gunned down by Obasanjo’s bodyguards.
Of the plotters, only Majors Ademoyega and Chukwuka refused to shed innocent blood. And they are the only ones who survived and lived well into old age. Is it a coincidence? You tell me!
But why were no Igbo politicians killed in a coup by mostly Igbo soldiers whose claim was that they were waging a revolution against corruption?
*Omokri is a former presidential aide