THE JULY REMATCH – THE NORTH REVENGE TO THE IGBO COUP 03

THE JULY REMATCH – THE NORTH REVENGE TO THE IGBO COUP 03

THE JULY REMATCH – THE NORTH REVENGE TO THE IGBO COUP 03

THE ABEOKUTA MUTINY AND THE SEEDS OF A NATION’S TURMOIL

Since the January coup, the anger of the Northern soldiers smoldered like dry grass beneath a relentless sun. By the night of July 28, 1966, that anger, long suppressed, found a voice in the misunderstanding at the Abeokuta Garrison. Lt-Colonel Gabriel Okonweze, Commanding Officer of the Garrison, received troubling whispers of a possible coup.

Like the farmer who sees dark clouds gathering over his field, his heart was heavy with worry. Determined to prevent history from repeating itself, he convened a meeting of his officers in the Mess, urging them to share what they knew, assuring them of his protection. He pledged that if trouble came, his men would be armed for defense.

Yet, as the elders say, “When the drums of war beat too loudly, even the trees tremble.” An Igbo NCO, misinterpreting the situation, began spreading word among the soldiers to collect arms. To the already suspicious Northern soldiers, this was a call for their destruction. The air, already thick with mistrust, grew heavier still. Some Northern soldiers, excluded from the meeting, believed this was proof of a plot against them.

Like hunters fearing ambush, they decided to strike first. Corporal John Shagaya, Lieutenant Pam Mwadkon, and others readied themselves for what they believed was an inevitable confrontation.

Amid this rising tension, Sergeant Sabo Kwale and Corporal Maisamari Maje whispered plans in their native tongue, resolving that only Northerners should be armed. When Okonweze stepped forward to address the brewing fears, Kwale and Maje, along with a group of Northern soldiers, marched toward the Mess with grim resolve.

The officers inside, unaware of the storm brewing outside, assumed the approaching soldiers were merely reporting for orders. But as the saying goes, “The snake that slithers into the homestead is rarely there to admire the cooking pot.” “And the vulture does not visit the homestead for idle gossip; it comes for a feast.”

Without warning, the Northern soldiers burst into the Mess, their guns roaring like thunder. Lt-Colonel Okonweze and Major Obienu fell under the hail of bullets. Obienu, who had sided with Ironsi during the January coup, became a casualty of shifting allegiances. Chaos erupted in the barracks. Fear spread like wildfire, and confusion clouded reason.

Captains Mohammad Remawa and Donate Bali, the most senior officers in Abeokuta, soon arrived. Changing into their battle attire, they sought to restore order, but their efforts were like trying to silence the wind. The Northern soldiers, now in control of the Garrison, turned their fury into a grim hunt.

They went door-to-door, seeking out Igbo soldiers, executing them, and piling their bodies into vehicles near the officers’ quarters.

Remawa, seeing the bloodshed, called Yakubu Gowon, the Chief of Army Staff, to report the horror unfolding at Abeokuta. Gowon, alarmed, alerted army formations across the country, urging vigilance. However, as the saying goes, “The message of a broken drum is heard differently by each ear.” The Northern soldiers saw Gowon’s calls as a signal to act.

Lt. Rowland Ogbonna, an Igbo officer who had been absent during the massacre, returned to the barracks only to witness the carnage. Believing a new coup had begun, he fled in terror and alerted the 2nd Battalion, reporting what he thought was an isolated mutiny.