Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Chukwuma “Kaduna” Nzeogwu

🇳🇬 Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Chukwuma “Kaduna” Nzeogwu

Revolutionary Soldier • January 15, 1966 Coup Leader • Nigerian Nationalist

Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu remains one of the most influential and controversial figures in Nigeria’s political and military history. Born on 26 February 1937 in Okpanam, Delta State, Nzeogwu was a highly disciplined, idealistic officer who believed passionately in a united, just, and corruption-free Nigeria.

He was educated at St. John’s College, Kaduna, and later received elite military training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (United Kingdom) and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Fluent in English, Hausa, and Igbo, Nzeogwu was known for crossing ethnic and regional lines at a time when Nigeria was deeply divided by politics and tribal loyalties.

On 15 January 1966, Nzeogwu led the military operation in the Northern Region during Nigeria’s first coup. His mission was driven by opposition to corruption, political greed, electoral fraud, and the breakdown of national discipline. Under his command, Kaduna and much of the North fell under military control within hours. Although the coup failed nationally, it brought an end to the First Republic and permanently altered Nigeria’s political trajectory.

His famous Kaduna broadcast denounced the political elite as profiteers and enemies of the people, earning him both admiration and fear across the country. Unlike many officers of his time, Nzeogwu lived modestly, rejected corruption, and enforced strict discipline, making him extremely popular among young soldiers.

After the coup, he was detained but not executed by the Ironsi government. He was later released following the July 1966 counter-coup. When the Nigerian Civil War began in 1967, Nzeogwu joined the Biafran Army and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding forces in the Mid-West and Nsukka axis.

Tragically, on 29 July 1967, Patrick Nzeogwu was kpaied by friendly fire during combat near Nsukka. He was only 30 years old.

Today, Patrick Chukwuma “Kaduna” Nzeogwu is remembered as a fearless revolutionary, a symbol of military idealism, and a man whose actions reshaped Nigeria’s destiny. Whether viewed as a hero or a controversial figure, his name remains permanently written in the history of Africa’s most populous nation.