Brigadier Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle (1936–2014), “The Black Scorpion”

Brigadier Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle (1936–2014), “The Black Scorpion”

Brigadier Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle (1936–2014), “The Black Scorpion”

Born in Kaduna to a Yoruba father from Ogbomoso and a Bachama mother from Adamawa, Adekunle trained at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and served with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Congo (1960).

During the Nigerian Civil War, he became legendary as Commander of the 3rd Marine Commando Division, one of the most effective units of the conflict. His campaigns included Operation OAU (Owerri–Awka–Umuahia axis) and daring riverine operations in the Niger Delta, which earned him his reputation as a fearless and often controversial commander.

After the war, Adekunle was tasked with resolving the ports congestion crisis in Lagos, reflecting his continued importance in national affairs. He retired from the army in 1974.

Adekunle passed away in 2014 at age 78, remembered as one of Nigeria’s most iconic, and polarizing, military figures.

Sources: Max Siollun, Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966–1976); John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War (1972).