It has been 41 years since the assassination of General Muritala Mohammed. It is in remembering him that INFORMATION NIGERIA has put together these 12 things you should know about him.

1. Muhammed was born Murtala Rufai Muhammed but he changed his name from Rufai to Ramat when he became Head of State

2. He was born on a Tuesday, the 8th of November, 1938 in the Kurawa Quarters of Kano State to Risqua Muhammed and Uwani Ramatu, he had 7 siblings (one girl and seven boys) and he was the second child.

3. He was a student of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1959 at the Regular Officers Special Training School , ROSTS (Teshie, Ghana), now Ghana Military Academy where he was taught as a 2nd Lieutenant infantry tactics and military laws

4. Both Murtala later faced his teacher Ojukwu in a bloody duel in the Nigerian Civil War.

5. His Yoruba wife (with partly Fulani roots), Mrs. Hafsat Ajoke Muhammed said they met in 1961 while she was studying at the School of Dental Hygiene in Lagos. He proposed to her and they got married in Kaduna in 1963 after her studies with the union producing 6 children.

6. He was a mastermind of the 1966 coup and he wanted the post of  the supreme commander of the Nigerian armed force for himself even when Gowon was his senior in the Military.

7. Murtala’s challenges during the war happened shortly after, as he attempted to cross the River Niger to Biafra. Despite the recommendation of his superiors at Army Headquarters in Lagos that he waits for the bridge, which had been blown up by the retreating Biafran forces, to be rebuilt, he insisted on a riverine crossing. Twice he was beaten back, but he steadfastly kept resolve and finally made it through on his third attempt. Shortly after this, Muhammed fed up with reprimands from Army headquarter, decided to quit his command and left for an extended holiday in the United Kingdom, but not before threatening to resign his commission. His historic military feats during the war won him National acclaim and respect even from his adversaries.

8. Few days before he was killed, on the 3rd of February 1976, he made an announcement that the Federal Capital would be moved to a ‘federal territory of about 8,000 square kilometers in the central part of the country Abuja.

9. He introduced the phrases “Fellow Nigerians” and “with immediate effect” to the national lexicon.

10. He set up a panel headed by Justice Ayo Irikefe on the creation of seven more states (Niger, Bauchi, Gongola, Benue, Ogun, Imo and Bendel) to the 12 existing ones on 22nd December, 1975.

11. While planning a coup against his own Commander-in-Chief, Gowon, Murtala, then a brigadier, went to Muhammed D Yusufu, who was Gowon’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) and told him pointblank that there was a plan for a coup and he could go and reveal it to ‘anyone he liked’. That was not Murtala’s first time of announcing a coup in such a blunt manner. He did the same in July 1966 before Aguiyi-Ironsi’s government collapsed.

12. Murtala Muhammed was killed, aged 37, along with his Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa in his black Mercedes Benz saloon car on, February 13, 1976 in an abortive coup attempt led by Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka, when his car was ambushed while en route his office at Dodan Baracks Lagos. The only visible sign of protection was a pistol carried by his orderly, therefore making his assassination an easy task.

4. Both Murtala later faced his teacher Ojukwu in a bloody duel in the Nigerian Civil War.

Hence making the latter eventually run off to Ivory Coast like a COWARD he was

OK go on

One of the things we really lack .... History
No national curriculum on history so we all repeat the same foolish mistakes.
For those interested in learning more about the coup period here's a nice site http://www.waado.org/NigerDelta/Nigeria_Facts/MilitaryRule/Omoigui/CoupPage.html
Also some videos on YouTube for those who grew up after the said period.

Mr Murtala was an Obdurate young Man.

U forgot to add that he committed genocide in Asaba,turning his machine guns on all d males who had been told to come out for a meeting.

Bolustic:

Hence making the latter eventually run off to Ivory Coast like a COWARD he was

Continue to RIP Muhammed Rufai.

3. He was a student of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1959 at the Regular Officers Special Training School , ROSTS (Teshie, Ghana), now Ghana Military Academy where he was taught as a 2nd Lieutenant infantry tactics and military laws

The above is partly wrong. Murtala was on a Military tactics course at ROST and was taught by Ojukwu but this was in 1961 and not 1959. Murtala had not even gone to Sandhurst in 1959 to talk about being a 2nd Lieutenant.


Murtala Mohammed was a blood thirsty genocidal killer. It remains a national disgrace that such a killer of a man has his face on the 20 Naira note.

As the commander of the Second division, Murtala commited War crimes by ordering the summary execution of POW's. Murtala Mohammed spearheaded a coup that killed over 300 officers of Eastern extraction.

Troops under the command of Murtala Mohammed killed 700 civilians in Asaba .

Murtala Mohamned was a disgrace of an Officer. His 3 disasterous attempts to cross the River Niger into Onitsha ked to deaths of thousands of his men. Whe Murtala managed to cross over, his troops were completely destroyed at Abagana. Murtala was the recalled from the war and sent to London.

Murtala Mohammed was a failed Soldier, a genocidal killer and a sociopath. Had Nigeria been a civilised country, such a horrible man would not have Airports named after him nor would he have a place of honour on the 20 Naira note

murtala third and successful attempt to cross the river Niger ended as a complete disaster as his troops was completely destroyed by the biafrans,the remainants fled back to asaba leaving behind their colleagues who drowned en masse trying to swim back. he eventually obeyed the military authorities and approached through land only to have his 98 Lorries convoy completely destroyed at abagana.the authorities relieved him of his command.as the minister of communication, he was known to be very corrupt.