This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2013) |
Illiya Bisalla | |
---|---|
Commissioner of Defence | |
In office 1975–1976 | |
Preceded by | Gen. Yakubu Gowon |
Succeeded by | Brig. O. Obasanjo |
Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy | |
In office February 1975 –August 1975 | |
Preceded by | Maj-Gen E.O. Ekpo |
Succeeded by | Brig Gibson Jalo |
General Officer Commanding 1 Division Nigerian Army | |
In office September 1969 –December 1973 | |
Preceded by | Gen. Mohammed Shuwa |
Succeeded by | Brig. I.B. Haruna |
Personal details | |
Died | March 11,1976 Nigeria |
Alma mater | RMA Sandhurst |
Military service | |
Branch/service | Nigerian Army |
Years of service | 1961–1976 |
Rank | Major General |
Iliya D. Bisalla (died 11 March 1976) was a Major General in the Nigerian Army and Commissioner of Defence (title is now Minister of Defence) under the military administration of General Murtala Mohammed,the 4th Nigerian Head of State.
Bisalla was a course mate of General Hassan Katsina at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Before becoming the Defense Commissioner,General Bisalla was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1st Infantry Division of the Nigerian Army from Sep 1969 to December 1973, [1] and also Commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy,Kaduna. [2]
General Bisalla was implicated by Colonel Dimka's confessional statements after investigations into the abortive February 13,1976 Dimka led coup which resulted in General Mohammed's assassination. Bisalla was controversially convicted of conspiracy and concealment of treason by the secret Special Military Tribunal;and as a result,Bisalla's complicity is not clear (e.g.,the Federal Military Government (FMG) asserted that Bisalla gave Dimka operational orders while Dimka,under interrogation,stated that another officer (Major Rabo) provided the operational orders). [3] Importantly,Dimka's confessional was not corroborated and Dimka was known to have provided inconsistent testimonies and drank beer while being interrogated. [3]
General Bisalla along with 31 other alleged co-conspirators some clearly guilty (such as Colonel Dimka and Lt. William Seri) and others whose guilt remain questionable (such as Joseph Gomwalk) were executed by firing squad on March 11,1976. [4]
Murtala Ramat Muhammad(listen) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War and thereafter ruled over Nigeria from 30 July 1975 until his assassination on 13 February 1976. This period in Nigerian history,from the Northern counter-coup victory to Murtala's death,is commonly associated with the institutionalization of the military in politics.
Mamman Jiya Vatsa was a Nigerian general and poet who served as Minister of the Federal Capital Abuja,and was a member of the Supreme Military Council
Patrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu was a Nigerian military officer and revolutionary who played a leading role in the first military coup d'ètat of 15 January 1966,which overthrew the first Nigerian republic.
The 1966 Nigerian counter-coup,or the so-called "July Rematch",was the second of many military coups in Nigeria. It was masterminded by Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed and many northern military officers. The coup began as a mutiny at roughly midnight on 28 July 1966 and was a reaction to the killings of Northern politicians and Officers by some soldiers on 15 January 1966. The July mutiny/counter coup resulted in the murder of Nigeria's first military Head of State General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and Lt Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi in Ibadan by disgruntled northern non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Upon the termination of Ironsi's government,Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon was appointed Head of State by the July 1966 coup conspirators.
Ibrahim Taiwo was a Military Governor of Kwara State from July 1975 to February 1976 during the military regime of General Murtala Mohammed. He assisted in establishment of the University of Ilorin,which was founded by decree August,1975.
Mohammed Chris Alli is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as Chief of Army Staff from 1993 to 1994 under General Sani Abacha's regime and was military governor of Plateau State Nigeria from August 1985 to 1986 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Many years later,he was appointed interim administrator of the state during a 2004 crisis in the state following ethno-religious killings in Shendam,Yelwa Local Government.
Abba Kyari was a Nigerian army brigadier who served as governor of the now defunct North-Central State,Nigeria after it was formed from the Northern Region during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
Joseph Akahan was Chief of Army Staff (Nigeria) from May 1967 until May 1968,when he was killed in a helicopter crash during the Nigerian Civil War.
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.
Sir Martin Le Quesne KCMG was a British diplomat,ambassador to Mali and Algeria and high commissioner to Nigeria.
Bar Beach is a beach on the Atlantic Ocean along the shoreline of Lagos,situated on Victoria Island. For a time,it was the most popular beach in Nigeria especially when Lagos was the capital of the country.
Ibrahim Bako was a senior officer in the Nigerian Army who played a principal role in two Nigerian military coups:the July 1966 counter-coup and the December 1983 coup. The 1983 coup ousted the democratic government of Shehu Shagari while the July 1966 coup ousted the military government of General Ironsi. Bako was killed while attempting to arrest President Shehu Shagari during the December 1983 coup d'état.
Mohammed Shuwa was a Nigerian Army Major General and the first General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army's 1st Division. Shuwa commanded the Nigerian Army's 1st Division during the Nigerian Civil War. He was murdered in Maiduguri by suspected Boko Haram sect on 2 November 2012.
James Oluleye was a Nigerian Army major general who served as Federal Commissioner of Finance (1977–79),Federal Commissioner of Establishment and Service Matters (1975–77),and who commanded the Nigerian Army's 2nd Division from 1970 to 1975.
Christian Anuforo was a Nigerian Army major 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.
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.
The 1975 Nigerian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup which took place in Nigeria on 29 July 1975 when a faction of junior Armed Forces officers overthrew General Yakubu Gowon. Colonel Joseph Nanven Garba announced the coup in a broadcast on Radio Nigeria. At the time of the coup,Gowon was attending the 12th Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Kampala,Uganda. The coup plotters appointed Brigadier Murtala Mohammed as head of state,and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy. The coup was motivated by unhappiness of junior officers at the lack of progress Gowon had made in moving the country towards democratic rule,while Garba's role as an insider is credited with ensuring that the coup was bloodless.
The 1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt was a military coup attempt which took place in Nigeria on 13 February 1976 when a faction of Armed Forces officers,led by Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka,attempted to overthrow the government of General Murtala Mohammed.
Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe was a Nigerian military officer who was QuarterMaster-General,Army Headquarters,Lagos on January 15,1966,the day of Nigeria's first coup.
Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suwa Dimka was a Nigerian Army officer who played a leading role in the 13 February 1976 abortive military coup against the government of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed. Dimka also participated in the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 which toppled the government of General Aguiyi Ironsi.