Related Research Articles
Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu was a Nigerian military officer and politician who served as President of the Republic of Biafra from 1967 to 1970 during the Nigerian Civil War. He previously served as military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria, which he declared as the independent state of Biafra.
Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon is a Nigerian former Head of State and statesman who led the Federal military government war efforts during the Nigerian Civil War.
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigeria was led by General Yakubu Gowon, and Biafra by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu. The conflict resulted from political, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in the Northern Region. The pogroms and the exodus of surviving Igbos from the Northern Region to the Igbo homelands in the Eastern Region led the leadership of the Eastern Region to conclude that the Nigerian federal government would not protect them and that they must protect themselves in an independent Biafra.
Joseph Arthur Ankrah was a Ghanaian army general who was head of state of Ghana from 1966 to 1969 as Chairman of the National Liberation Council. He was Ghana's first military head of state. Ankrah also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 24 February 1966 to 5 November 1966. Previously, Ankrah was appointed the first commander of the Ghana Army in 1961.
Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu was a Nigerian military officer who played a leading role in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état, which overthrew the First Nigerian Republic.
David Akpode Ejoor RCDS, PSC, was a Nigerian military officer who served as Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
A series of massacres were committed against Igbo people and other people of southern Nigerian origin living in northern Nigeria starting in May 1966 and reaching a peak after 29 September 1966. Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners have been estimated to have been killed. A further 1 million Igbos fled the Northern Region into the East. In response to the killings some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other eastern cities. These events led to the secession of the eastern Nigerian region and the declaration of the Republic of Biafra, which ultimately led to the Nigeria-Biafra war.
The Midwest Invasion of 1967 or Midwest Offensive, codenamed Operation Torch, was a military operation between Nigerian and Biafran military forces during the Nigerian Civil War. The invasion began on August 9 when 3,000 Biafran soldiers led by General Victor Banjo crossed the River Niger Bridge into Asaba. Upon reaching Agbor, the Biafrans split up. With the 12th Battalion moving west capturing Benin City and Ore, the 18th Battalion swung south, taking Warri, Sapele and Ughelli, while the 13th Battalion headed north for Auchi, Agenebode and Okene. Simultaneously, a plot to capture Mid-Western Governor David Ejoor at his home in Benin failed. Nevertheless, the Biafrans, meeting virtually no resistance, had seized the entire Mid-Western Region in less than 12 hours.
The Abagana Ambush was an ambush during the Nigerian Civil War by Biafran troops led by Major Jonathan Uchendu that wiped out the Nigerian 2nd Division. Of the 6,000 Nigerian troops ambushed, only a very small number survived, including the 2nd Division's commander, General Murtala Muhammed.
Victor Adebukunola Banjo was a colonel in the Nigerian Army. He fought in the Biafran Army during the Nigerian Civil War. Banjo was accused of being a coup plotter against Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa by the government of Aguyi Ironsi. He was alleged to have staged a coup plot against Biafran President Odumegwu Ojukwu and was executed as a result. Ojukwu's first military judge stated that was not enough evidence to convict him of coup charges, but he was found guilty by a second military tribunal.
On 15 January 1966, rebellious soldiers carrying out a military putsch led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and 4 others, killed 22 people including the prime minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, senior Army officers and their wives, and sentinels on protective duty. The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while also blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day timespan, before being overcome by loyalist forces.
Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna was a Nigerian army major and high jumper. He was the first Black African to win a gold medal at an international sports event when he won at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. His winning mark and personal best of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) was a game record and a British Empire record at the time.
Major General Mohammed Shuwa was a Nigerian military officer and the first General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army's 1st Division. Shuwa commanded the 1st Division during the Nigerian Civil War. He was murdered in Maiduguri by suspected Boko Haram militants on 2 November 2012.
Christian Anuforo was a Nigerian Army major and one of the principal plotters of the 15 January 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria.
Ogbugo Kalu was a Nigerian military officer who served in the Nigerian Army and later the Biafran Army during the Nigerian Civil War. Kalu was also commander of the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in Kaduna following the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état.
Humphrey Chukwuka is a retired Nigerian Army Major, former Biafran Army Colonel, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria.
Major Donatus Okafor was a Nigerian army officer, Commander of the Federal Guards Brigade, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria.
Zakariya Maimalari was a Nigerian Army brigadier, he was killed in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état. He was commander of the 2nd Brigade, Apapa, Lagos in 1966.
Ejike Ebenezer Obumneme Aghanya was a military officer and electrical engineer who served in the Nigerian Army and the Biafran Armed Forces, retiring as a colonel. Accused of involvement in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état he was arrested and imprisoned without trial until the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War where he served on the side of Biafra, holding key positions in the Biafran Armed Forces. He was the head of the Biafran Agency for Research and Production (RAP) which produced bombs, rockets, missiles, as well as ammunition, armored vehicles, telecommunication gadgets and petroleum refineries among others for the Biafran Armed Forces. Later he was the Chief of Staff of the Biafran Organisation of Freedom Fighters (BOFF) which was the guerrilla warfare and special operations arm of the Biafran Armed Forces. He also served as Battalion Commander, 44th Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Battalion Biafran Army and later Brigade Commander of the 58th Brigade of 12th Infantry Division Biafran Army during the war.
Alexander A. Madiebo was a Biafran soldier. He served as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Republic of Biafra which existed from 1967 to 1970.
References
- ↑ Siollun, Max (2009). Oil, politics and violence : Nigeria's military coup culture (1966-1976). Algora Pub. p. 122. ISBN 9780875867106.
- 1 2 Trust, Daily (21 August 2016). "British secret files on Nigeria's first bloody coup, path to Biafra". Daily Trust.
- ↑ "1966: THE ASSASSINATION OF LT. COL. ARTHUR CHINYELU UNEGBE".
- ↑ Opata, Christian (2016). "10. Part IIIMemoirs and the Question of Objectivity Revisiting Alexander Madiebo's The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War and Robert Collis's Nigeria in Conflict". Writing the Nigeria-Biafra War (NED - New ed.). Boydell & Brewer. pp. 219–223. ISBN 978-1-84701-144-2. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt1c3gxm9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
 | This biographical article related to the Nigerian military is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |