Politics
‘How Murtala Muhammed Was Assassinated, Other Untold Stories’
Fifty years after the assassination of former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, fresh memories have resurfaced through the emotional recollection of his former orderly, Michael Otuwe (retd.), who witnessed the failed 1976 coup firsthand.
In a rare interview conducted a decade ago and now revisited to mark the anniversary, the retired soldier recounts how the charismatic leader almost escaped his attackers, his experiences during the civil war, and the personal sacrifices that defined years of close service to one of Nigeria’s most revered military figures.
Recalling his journey into the military during the interview with Daily Trust, Otuwe narrated, “I am an Igala man from Olamoboro Local Government of Kogi State. I attended Ankpa Primary School and Ankpa Model Secondary School before I joined the profession I cherished most, the army.”
According to him, he enlisted in the Nigerian Army on September 11, 1967, at the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos, where he underwent six months of training on the eve of the Nigerian Civil War.
“After the training I was posted to the Nigerian Army Signal Corps and incidentally, Murtala Ramat Mohammed was a Colonel then and the Inspector of Signals,” he added.
Otuwe said Muhammed personally chose him because of his discipline and neatness.
“He told me that he noticed how immaculate I was in my army dress when we do master parade. He picked me to be his orderly when I was a Lance Corporal,” he said.
He explained that he served closely with Muhammed through various postings, including during the civil war when the late General became the first General Officer Commanding of the Second Division of the Nigerian Army.
“I worked with him till he was killed, and that was 11 years,” Otuwe said, noting that during the period the General had three children, Aisha, Zakari and Fatima.
Otuwe described Muhammed as a strategic and disciplined military commander.
“He was an organiser of men and their welfare. He was smart and hardworking and thought of Nigeria first before anything,” he said.
He recalled an incident when Biafran soldiers encircled them.
“He did a wonderful tactical manoeuvre and retreated that baffled even we that were with him. When many wanted to surrender, he made a quest to fight and to win for Nigeria to continue as a united country.”
Surviving Ambushes
The retired soldier recounted several ambushes encountered during the war. He said, “We encountered many ambushes and attacks but one of the most memorable was when we were encircled at Ukpo Junction in Abbagana. Murtala did a tactical manoeuvre and withdrew and prepared for a defensive attack that led to the capture of many towns and cities.”
Otuwe added that after some operations, troops moved through Asaba and later to Idah in present-day Kogi State to prepare for further offensives.
“In 1968, there was a reshuffle that took General Murtala back to Lagos as Minister of Communications and Inspector of Signals. That meant he was doing two jobs at the same time,” he said.
Speaking on how his job affected his family, Otuwe said his wife had become accustomed to military life.
“She was married to a soldier, and she had become part of the system. When she saw us at home, it meant we were off duty,” he said.
He added that his children rarely saw him due to his demanding schedule.
“Most of my children almost forgot me as I left home at dawn and came back late in the night,” Otuwe noted.
Secret Visits, Price Monitoring
Otuwe also recounted how Muhammad disguised himself to monitor market prices in Lagos.
“I and his ADC, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinterinwa, once followed him to survey prices and the rising cost of goods,” he said.
“He wore a tracksuit, a face cap and dark goggles and rode a horse to a filling station, disembarked, tied it and entered Sangross (Lagos Island), then Ajegunle and later Agege markets. The ADC pretended that we were not together, and the ADC was writing the prices, and I was pretending to be a window shopper. A market woman told him to give other buyers a chance as people were more disciplined then, as everybody queued for their turn. After two weeks goods and meat came in ships. People tagged the meat as ‘Murtala Meat’”.
The Day Of Assassination
When asked about what happened the day Murtala was assassinated, Otuwe narrated, “He was assassinated on July 29, 1976 (Starts shedding tears). He ruled for six months from July 29, 1975, to February 13, 1976. He was a very good man, as he did not allow the goods (personal effects) of General Gowon to be thrown out, but to be removed gently, and for the house to be renovated before he relocated from Dodan Barracks. That was why he was shuttling from Ikoyi without pilot cars, motorbike outriders, armed military and security bodyguards among others. He only rode in the official Mercedes-Benz car with two flags, the national flag on the left and the armed forces flag on the right. On that fateful day, we passed through the Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi, which was undergoing renovation and covered with zinc.
“When we reached Alagbgon Junction, the traffic man did not notice the flags, he would have allowed the traffic in our direction to continue moving, but he stopped the five or six cars in front of us then I saw some people in agbada (Babanriga) and when they lifted them up they brought out AK-47 rifles and fired at us. Already a masked man had got the driver, Sergeant Adamu Michika, in the head and he feel on the arm-rest where the suit case containing the General’s mufti was. I took cover and fell on the driver.
“The General and the ADC also took cover. When the assassins left and were heading to the National Broadcasting Corporation, Radio House, to announce the takeover, one of the Majors turned and saw that when the ADC opened the door to help the General, the Major shouted and notified his colleagues that they were alive. This made them turn and rush back and empty their bullets at us. I was the only survivor as I was shot in the arm and the hip.
“The troops loyal to General Murtala came after the soldiers and they took us to the mortuary. I recovered from coma when the breeze from the air conditioner and the pain woke me up. A mortuary attendant noticed that I raised my hand, and he alerted a doctor, who said I was alive, and they took me to Dodan Barracks and then to a hospital on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi.”
About his recovery from the incident, Otuwe said, “I spent six months recovering and resumed work with the Nigerian Army Signal Corps. Where I worked with Generals Adenaju, Raji Rasaki and lastly Tanko Ayuba.
Asked whether he has ever received any honour, the retired soldier responded, “No, not at all.”
Sharing his residence at the time of the interview, Otuwe revealed, “I am now staying in a rented two-bedroom house in Maraba in Nasarawa State. The street has no name not to talk of house number. But I am working in the office of Riskua Murtala Muhammed in Maitama.”
Otuwe recalled that he retired from service on December 31, 1999, as a Master Warrant Officer.
On whether he ever regretted serving in the Nigerian Army, Otuwe said: “No, no, no, not at all.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has published the names and personal particulars of presidential candidates who will contest the 2027 general election.
Daily Voice gathered that the list puts the number of presidential candidates at 19, with each candidate accompanied by a nominated running mate.
The publication brings further clarity to the field ahead of the presidential election and places the candidates’ credentials and other personal information before the Nigerian public.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is seeking another term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Vice President Kashim Shettima remains his running mate.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is contesting under the African Democratic Congress, ADC. The former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is his running mate.
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi is also on the list. Obi is contesting under the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, with former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.
The publication also includes the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which is fielding Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate. Umaru Babangida is listed as his running mate.
African Action Congress, AAC, has Omoyele Sowore as its presidential candidate, with Haruna Garba Magashi as his running mate.
Other candidates include former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, with Buba Musa as his running mate.
The National Democratic Party, NDP, is represented by Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori, while Uchenna Anthony Chukwuemeka is listed as her running mate.
The Young Progressives Party, YPP, is fielding Anita Zugwai Chukwu as its presidential candidate, with Egbeola Olawale Mertins as the vice-presidential candidate.
Rufai Adekunle Omoaje is the candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, while Shehu Hussaini is listed as his running mate.
The Boot Party has Sunday Adenuga as its presidential candidate and Usman Turaki Mustapha as his running mate.
Samuel Memeh is contesting under the Democratic Liberty Alliance, DLA, with Alex Balogun as his running mate.
Daniel Danerechukwu Nwanyanwu is the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, presidential candidate. Hassan Khalid is listed as his running mate.
The Labour Party, LP, is fielding Sunday Chibuzor Okereke, with Hajja Bintu Konto as his running mate.
Iken Esther Okereke is the presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement, NRM, while Samuel Magdalene Gali is the vice-presidential candidate.
Abbas-Bin Aliyu is contesting under the Action Democratic Party, ADP, with Chinazam Ike as his running mate.
The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, is represented by Suleiman Mohammed Dikwa, while Abubakar Isah is listed as his running mate.
The Social Democratic Party, SDP, is fielding Adewole Ebenezer Adebayo, with Usman Mohammed Bugaje as his running mate.
Seyi Makinde is listed as the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, with Ibrahim Adamu Bala as his running mate.
The Action Peoples Party, APP, has Kabiru Yusuf as its presidential candidate, with Peace Egobia Ofordile as his running mate.
The publication of the candidates’ details followed the requirement for INEC to make the particulars submitted by political parties and their candidates available for public scrutiny.
The documents contain information such as dates of birth, educational qualifications, occupations and other personal details supplied by the candidates.
The exercise gives political parties, candidates and members of the public an opportunity to examine the information submitted to the electoral commission.
It also provides an important reference point ahead of the commencement of the next stage of the electoral process.
According to INEC, the publication of candidates’ particulars is tied to the provisions of the Electoral Act. Section 29(3) requires the commission to publish the personal particulars of nominated candidates after receiving the relevant nomination documents.
Tinubu is seeking to retain the presidency for the APC after winning the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku is returning to the presidential contest on a different platform after leaving the PDP for the ADC coalition.
Obi, who finished third in the 2023 presidential election, is also returning to the race under the NDC.
Moreover, the information released by INEC contains qualifications ranging from primary and secondary school certificates to university degrees and higher academic qualifications.
For instance, Tinubu’s submitted particulars include a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Chicago State University.
Shettima submitted records of his primary and secondary education, as well as degrees in agricultural studies, while Atiku’s documents include his First School Leaving Certificate, West African School Certificate and a master’s degree in International Relations.
Amaechi also submitted details of his academic background, including his university education and legal qualifications.
Obi’s records include a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Kwankwaso’s credentials include a Higher Diploma in Civil Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic and his National Youth Service Corps certificate.
Recall, INEC had earlier fixed the presidential and National Assembly election for February 20, 2027, before subsequent revisions to the electoral timetable.
The commission’s current online election calendar lists January 16, 2027 for the Presidential and House of Assembly election and February 6, 2027 for the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
INEC has also urged political parties, candidates and voters to follow the approved timetable and comply with the rules governing the electoral process.
A former House of Representatives aspirant under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Danjuma, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Danjuma, popularly known as Garkuwa Babba, was the ADC aspirant for the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency and also served as National Chairman of the ADC House of Representatives Aspirants Forum.
He announced his defection after meeting with Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, Naija News understands.
During the meeting, Danjuma declared his support for the APC and pledged to mobilize his political network and grassroots supporters for the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said he would support Governor Yahaya’s senatorial ambition, the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna, and other candidates of the party.
Danjuma said his decision to leave the ADC was largely influenced by Yahaya’s leadership, performance and development record in Gombe State.
He praised the governor for what he described as tangible development across the state, saying his achievements had boosted confidence in the APC and reduced the appeal of opposition parties among voters.
According to him, joining the APC was a deliberate move to support continuity, stability and further development in Gombe State.
Receiving Danjuma, Governor Yahaya welcomed his decision to join the APC, describing the development as a major boost for the party.
The governor assured the new APC member and his supporters of an inclusive and united party, stressing the importance of unity, loyalty and collective effort.
Yahaya said the APC remained open to individuals and groups who shared the vision of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Gombe State.
He added that Danjuma’s political experience, network and grassroots reach would be valuable to the party.
The governor also urged APC members and stakeholders to remain united, saying the strength of the party depended on its ability to accommodate different interests while working towards the development of Gombe State.
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