Who killed Johnson Banjo?

Who killed Johnson Banjo?

In the middle of the civil war in May 1968, Nigeria and Biafra met in Uganda for peace talks. The Nigerian delegation included Johnson Banjo, a 35-year-old typist who would become the main character of a mystery that remains unsolved till today.

Here’s what happened, according to DRUM:

▶️ On May 23, the day after he arrived in Uganda, Banjo disappeared from his hotel room while typing a confidential memo. Uganda’s Criminal Investigation Department, led by Mohammed Hassan, kept the incident quiet for four days, hoping to find him without causing a scene, but no one could explain what happened.

▶️ The Nigerian delegation, led by Chief Anthony Enahoro, accused the Biafran delegation of kidnapping Banjo to torture him for state secrets. The Biafran delegation, led by Sir Louis Mbanefo, accused Nigeria of using the incident as an excuse not to discuss peace.

▶️ Uganda was desperate to avoid disaster and offered a reward of 20,000 shillings, later raised to 25,000 shillings, but Banjo was nowhere to be found.

▶️ 15 days after he went missing, operatives discovered a swollen body in a remote swamp. Naked except for underpants, the body had decomposed severely. Nearby, police found a shirt and a pair of trousers.

▶️ Autopsy results suggested the man had been starved before drowning in mud and water. Despite some doubts from Nigeria, forensic comparison with an old passport photo, using overlay methods, confirmed the body was Banjo.

▶️ Uganda offered to return the body, but Nigeria stayed silent. For more than two years, Banjo’s remains waited in a Kampala mortuary. Tired of the stalemate, the Ugandan government buried him with no rites, no farewell, and no word from home.

▶️ No one ever admitted responsibility for Banjo’s disappearance and apparent murder. Some blamed Biafran intelligence. Others suspected someone on the Nigerian side. Had Banjo overheard something he shouldn’t have? Was he used to send a message? Or was he just a pawn in a bigger game?

▶️ The peace initiative that brought Banjo to Uganda ultimately failed, and everyone else returned home. It didn’t stop the civil war, but it marked the end of his life. To this day, the circumstances remain unclear. How did he die? Why? Who killed Johnson Banjo?