Former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd), in his new book, “A Journey in Service,” recounted how he narrowly escaped assassination during the April 22, 1990 coup led by Major Gideon Orkar.
Babangida who described the coup as a “rude shock”, detailed the events that unfolded on that fateful night at Dodan Barracks.
According to him, the coup attempt began in the early hours of the morning while he was asleep, saying that his wife was the first to notice unusual troop movements outside their residence and alerted him.
“The troop movements and formations she had noticed were unusual in the security protocol of the residential part of Dodan Barracks,” he wrote.
As he got up to inspect the situation, gunfire erupted, shattering window panes and signaling the start of an attack.
“Very shortly afterwards, small arms firing commenced. It targeted the residence and office quarters as window panes began to shatter. This was followed by heavy artillery bombardment of the residential quarters,” Babangida narrated.
He explained that his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Lt-Col. U. K. Bello, immediately took charge of the situation and coordinated efforts to protect the Head of State.
The coup plotters, determined to eliminate Babangida, attempted to storm his residence but were met with stiff resistance from his guards.
“My guards did what they were trained to do best: to protect me and the family as their primary subjects,” Babangida recalled.
He said despite his initial refusal to leave his residence, his security detail forcefully evacuated him and his family to separate safe houses far from Dodan Barracks, which had been heavily damaged by the attack.
Babangida said Bello and loyal troops engaged the coup plotters in a fierce gun battle.
“Lt-Col. U. K. Bello and the boys moved to engage the disloyal soldiers. In the process of moving to deploy the military tank located near the residence, U. K. Bello discovered that the rebel soldiers had earlier sabotaged the vehicle and it could not be used to return the fire of the coup plotters.”
Babangida revealed that while the coup plotters took over the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and broadcast their treasonous message, loyal military forces were working tirelessly to counter the insurrection.
He said General Sani Abacha played a crucial role in mobilizing troops to crush the coup, saying “General Sani Abacha took control of the loyal forces as necessary and constantly communicated progress in the operation to foil the coup to me in my safe location.”
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