Major Theophilus Danjuma and the 1966 Counter-Coup

Major Theophilus Danjuma and the 1966 Counter-Coup

Major Theophilus Danjuma and the 1966 Counter-Coup

Major Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma was one of the Nigerian Army officers who played a significant role in the July 29, 1966 counter-coup, a military uprising that changed Nigeria’s history forever.

The counter-coup was organized mainly by northern officers in response to the January 15, 1966 coup, during which many northern political and military leaders were k1illed.

Among the prominent officers involved in the July uprising were Murtala Muhammed, Theophilus Danjuma, Joseph Akahan, Martin Adamu, Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari, and others.

During the operation in Ibadan, General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military Head of State, and Lt. Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, the Military Governor of the Western Region, were arrested and later ki1lled.

Historical accounts generally identify Major Theophilus Danjuma as one of the officers involved in the arrest, although different eyewitnesses and historians differ on the precise sequence of events and individual responsibilities for the k1illings.

The success of the counter-coup brought General Yakubu Gowon to power. It also intensified ethnic tensions, led to widespread anti-Igbo violence across parts of Northern Nigeria, and set Nigeria on the path to the Nigerian and Biafra Civil W@r (1967–1970),

More than sixty years later, the events of July 1966 remain one of the most debated chapters in Nigerian history. While many facts are documented, historians continue to discuss the motives, planning, and individual actions of those involved 😱