Why did Col. Victor Banjo sabotage the order to capture Lagos?

Why did Col. Victor Banjo sabotage the order to capture Lagos?

In the heat of the Nigeria Civil W*ar, Gen. Ojukwu ordered Operation Torch which was a high-stakes and lightning-fast surprise offensive. The strategy combined deception, rapid armor movement, and political subversion to shift the theatre of war away from Biafra’s home borders. Ojukwu believed that Operation Torch would force the Nigerian Army to split their resources while fighting on a second front. The ultimate prize was Lagos, then Nigeria’s federal capital. Ojukwu believed seizing Lagos would force Nigeria to recognize Biafran independence.

At 3:00 AM on August 9, 1967 a column of 3,000 Biafran troops crossed the River Niger Bridge at Onitsha. The Nigerian Army did not expect an invasion from this axis. Led by Col later Brigadier Victor Banjo, the troops used civilian vehicles, trucks, and a few improvised armored cars to bypass major defenses and race down the main highway and within 12 hours, the Biafran forces reached Benin City.

After taking Benin City, Brigadier Banjo halted the advance for several crucial days and started secret negotiations with British and Nigerian contacts. He totally ignored repeated order to continue advancing to Lagos. This delay gave the federal government time to mobilize the Lagos garrison and move the 2nd Division under Murtala Mohammed to set up a massive defensive wall at Ore.

After 10 days of unnecessary delay, the demoralised troops who had lost momentum and element of surprise started moving towards Ore started and the town around August 17–18, 1967 where the 2nd Division under Murtala Mohammed successfully put an end to the movement. The 10 day delay in reaching Ore was a military disaster.

Why did Brigadier Banjo delayed the movement to Lagos
Ojukwu believed that the presence and leadership of Brigadier Banjo would make the west feel less threatened but Brigadier Banjo had a different idea. While Ojukwu’s ultimate goal of moving to Lagos was to force Nigeria government to recognise Biafra, Banjo did not care for Biafran secession. He wanted to use the military push to liberate the West and Midwest, and restructure Nigeria as he wanted. So while in Benin city, he created an independent local militia answerable only to himself.

On August 14, 1967, he made a public broadcast in Benin City where he questioned Biafran secession and stated that the aim was “reconstruction of Nigeria”.

Following the failure of the Lagos mission, Banjo, alongside Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Phillip Alale, and Samuel Agbam, was arrested, tried for treason, and executed by firing squad on September 22, 1967