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Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him - Politics (2) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him (56593 Views)

Olayinka Omigbodun: Ojukwu, Who Ordered My Father’s Execution Was His Friend / Ayo Adebanjo: Ojukwu Betrayed Awolowo With The Civil War / Victor Banjo, The Yoruba Biafran Soldier: What You Don't Know About The Lt. Col. (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by HopeAtHand: 4:01pm On Oct 09, 2017
lol...
Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Beno3: 4:02pm On Oct 09, 2017
Story! Story!!.... Story!!!
Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by omenka(m): 4:03pm On Oct 09, 2017
We just keep re- opening very old wounds.

Naija I hail o.
Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by yabatown: 4:03pm On Oct 09, 2017
oladeebo:

don't call me to this non-sense pls, his farther who was tight to pole at outskirt of enugu and shot at close range is not killed by ojukwu but Gowon who was in Lagos.
Gowon is alive let him go and ask him the where-about of his farther burial ground.

EXACTLY. Gowan dey alive, so she can go and ask him of her father's wherabouts
Banjo was part of 1966 coup, was imprisoned by GOWON
What was he doing in Biafra except planning yet another coup with Ifeajuna after the catastrophe of the first coup

My lady, when you are in the business of coup planning, the stakes are high. You pay with your life, like your Dad and countless other coup plotters. Stop blaming Ojukwu. Lay the blame where it falls.

11 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Omoluabi16(m): 4:03pm On Oct 09, 2017
Ojukwu was a pathetic coward, a traitor and a murderer.He knew he was failing, But he used Ifeajuna and banjo as the fall guys. His high handedness led to the demise of brilliant soldiers. Nsukka subsequently fell, and he lost the war. God rest your soul Victor banjo. Dining with those devils cost you your life. You were a victim of Both nigeria and biafra

18 Likes 1 Share

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by phreakabit(m): 4:03pm On Oct 09, 2017
Your father though he was smart, he was playing the role of a trojan horse for the Nigerian govt, to the point of sabotaging operations and even plotting a coupe. I'd say Ojukwu killing him was being civil and forgiving.

12 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Leez(m): 4:04pm On Oct 09, 2017
cristianisraeli:
Fifty years ago, the late Lt. Col Victor Banjo, the 16th Nigerian to be commissioned into the Nigerian Army, was publicly executed reportedly on the orders of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who was then the Military Head of the secessionist Biafra Republic. He was an Ijebu from Ogun State but died fighting on the Biafran side during the Nigerian civil war.
Banjo was before his death, in detention on allegations that he took part in the January 1966 coup, was released by Ojukwu when the war broke out and convinced to lead part of the Liberation Army, which went on the offensive against the Nigerian Army and got as far as Benin, in present day Edo State. Banjo was to declare another republic upon having Benin under his control.
In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, his daughter, Mrs. Olayinka Omigbodun, a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Ibadan, recalls how Banjo’s young family was thrown into disarray upon his arrest and detention. She also lamented what she described as the unjust treatment meted out to her father while explaining why she thinks Ojukwu killed his friend, her father.

How does it feel remembering the events that led to the reported execution of your father (Lt. Col. Victor Banjo)?

First and foremost, I must express gratitude to God for keeping us alive and well all these years. Despite the fact that we lost our father while still so young, God has kept us to see this day. We are four children, two boys, two girls. I am the third. We’ve all been able to go through school and acquire degrees. All of us are alive and healthy.

I thank God for the kind of parents he gave me. Our father died 50 years ago and our mum 20 years ago. She was a widow for 30 years before she also went to be with the Lord. I am proud of them. It was 30 years of struggle and difficulty, but with our late mother determined to fulfil her promise to our dad, we made it.

Why do you think he did that to his friend?

He conveniently blamed Banjo and three other men. Lt. Col Ifeajuna, Alele and one other for sabotaging the Biafran efforts. He needed to tell the people who were losing faith in him something new as a reason for the defeats. His fear about the imminent fall of Enugu was also driving him to do something. So, on trumped up charges, my father and three other men were tried by a Kangaroo court and killed by firing squad in 1967.

The trial did not reveal any evidence linking Banjo with any act of treason against Ojukwu or the Biafran government. In fact, it took a second military tribunal to convict Banjo because the first tribunal stated that the evidence presented to it was insufficient to prove Banjo’s guilt in the case. Unsatisfied and not ready to let my father off the hook, Ojukwu constituted another tribunal speedily.

Apparently, it was a clear case of sacrificing someone as a scapegoat because while my father was looking forward to assisting Ojukwu further with the Biafran war in spite of the huge risk and sacrifice involved for him as a person, Ojukwu was looking for a way of implicating him for sabotage so as to retain the control of the region. Ojukwu betrayed my father by killing him.


And you don’t think his not agreeing in the secession was a reason he got into trouble with Ojukwu?

Well, they were friends and friends disagree. They probably must have disagreed on that before then because my father never hid his patriotism. But again, I was told that hours after the execution, Enugu fell. I am a Professor. Human beings are very fickle. We are wont to always look for excuses. For scapegoats; so, my father was simply the sacrifice.

He knew my father was up for one Nigeria. Even before drafting him into the war on his side, he knew my father was a patriot who wanted one united Nigeria. After the war we left Nigeria for Sierra Leone but my mother brought us back because my father, in his letters, had insisted we must be raised as Nigerians. So, his patriotism was never in doubt. Ojukwu merely executed him to cover up his own failures as a leader of the war.

But Gowon later became the Head of State. Why didn’t he release your dad?

After Gowon was installed as Head of State, my father made several overtures to him for his release. But Gen. Gowon refused to release him even though he knew he was not part of the coup. The only concession he gave was that Banjo could be transferred to a prison in Lagos if he so wished. My father rejected the offer.

Even when my father wrote Ironsi from prison in Ikot Ekpene, on June 1, 1966, he was wondering what on earth he did to warrant being imprisoned. He faulted the way he was being treated and asked for justice, fairness and loyalty from Ironsi as a loyal officer. He saw his detention as a grievous crime against him. He pleaded his innocence and asked to be released. There is really no basis for tagging him as a ‘coupist’. I sincerely think setting the records straight is one of the things Nigeria, and the likes of Gen. Gowon, owe us as his family and children.

It is very painful for us not knowing how he ended really. Not knowing where his remains are. Not even the exact date of his death. We only read in the book of a foreign journalist who had witnessed his execution of the date and circumstances. Beyond that, there is little or nothing to prove how he ended. This is very sad.

http://thenationonlineng.net/victor-banjos-daughter-ojukwu-betrayed-father-killing/

but but afonjas said it was igbo coup nah
heheeheehheheehhe
smh for d hydraulic soup clan

2 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by donklef(m): 4:06pm On Oct 09, 2017
Banjo ndoo
Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Mrchippychappy(m): 4:08pm On Oct 09, 2017
Banjo was NEVER interested in the Biafran cause, he was a traitor right from the moment he set foot on Biafran Territory, He planned with the British Government and the Federal Government to topple Biafra, He and Ifeajuna were promised federal pardon and diplomatic roles. I have read all about it, I know people that where DIRECTLY involved in the war and I have heard and read direct accounts of what happened, this one no be super story, Banjo was never willing to help Biafra from the start.

13 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by agarawu23(m): 4:09pm On Oct 09, 2017
Betrayed?

They were both fighting for Biafra na
Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by phreakabit(m): 4:11pm On Oct 09, 2017
Mrchippychappy:
Banjo was NEVER interested in the Biafran cause, he was a traitor right from the moment he set foot on Biafran Territory, He planned with the British Government and the Federal Government to topple Biafra, He and Ifeajuna were promised federal pardon and diplomatic roles. I have read all about it, I know people that where DIRECTLY involved in the war and I have heard and read direct accounts of what happened, this one no be super story, Banjo was never willing to help Biafra from the start.

In Chief Zebrudaya's voice Ayuwa.....

3 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by valentineuwakwe(m): 4:11pm On Oct 09, 2017
please let sleeping dog lie. .you were not there and don't know what transpire. .you were only told I presumed. .please in the midst of current high tempers don't put the east and west. .that's the last thing we need now. .and please stop trying to make your self relevant. .mind your professorship. .

1 Like

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Nobody: 4:14pm On Oct 09, 2017
The reverse was the case ma'am. Your dad betrayed his friend Ojukwu who trusted him with his life.

Just like an average Igboman, Ojukwu trusted his friend Banjo more than his brothers who even warned him. He was lucky to survive the betrayal.

10 Likes 2 Shares

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Unbreakable007: 4:16pm On Oct 09, 2017
Aunty GOOD MORNING .

Na now u wake up frm sleep ?

2 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Guestlander: 4:17pm On Oct 09, 2017
phreakabit:
Your father though he was smart, he was playing the role of a trojan horse for the Nigerian govt, to the point of sabotaging operations and even plotting a coupe. I'd say Ojukwu killing him was being civil and forgiving.

The truth is out. No one is buying this st.upid propaganda any longer.
Ojukwu was a murderous little tyrant.

14 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by perez100: 4:18pm On Oct 09, 2017
Banjo face self looked like a dubious man. Both Ironsi and Gowon refused to release him until Ojukwu released him yet as Afonja he was, he deeqly betrayed Biafrans. So, he got what he deserved from the great Ojukwu.

8 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Guestlander: 4:20pm On Oct 09, 2017
perez100:
Banjo face self looked like a dubious man. Both Ironsi and Gowon refused to release him until Ojukwu released him yet as Afonja he was, he deeqly betrayed Biafrans. So, he got what he deserved from the great Ojukwu.

What about Ifeajuna? Was he also Afonja who betrayed the Biafrans?
I think Ojukwu was lucky he got away, he probably would have been shot for all his crimes.
I meant shot by the biafrans themselves.

14 Likes 2 Shares

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Nobody: 4:21pm On Oct 09, 2017
The death of Banjo was the fall of Enugu

3 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by olayinkaboss11(m): 4:22pm On Oct 09, 2017
Ojukwu shouldn't have killed Banjo, cuz a veteran like Banjo and Ifeajuna would have help him to save Enugu from falling to the Nigeria's Army

6 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by victorDanladi: 4:23pm On Oct 09, 2017
Bolustical:
The way Biafrans narrate their stories, one would think Ojukwu never committed atrocities, as if some villages in Edo states were never raided down coz of their anti Biafran stances.

At the end, the Biafra never materialized.

Their own account of the war is the fact.I know they will twist the story in the future that Ojukwu never ran away and come back to contest for ordinary senator under hausa fulani party.

8 Likes 1 Share

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by christopherozo: 4:24pm On Oct 09, 2017
Mrchippychappy:
Banjo was NEVER interested in the Biafran cause, he was a traitor right from the moment he set foot on Biafran Territory, He planned with the British Government and the Federal Government to topple Biafra, He and Ifeajuna were promised federal pardon and diplomatic roles. I have read all about it, I know people that where DIRECTLY involved in the war and I have heard and read direct accounts of what happened, this one no be super story, Banjo was never willing to help Biafra from the start.

You have said it all. Banjo suffered the fate of all traitors. It's hard to face it, but that's the truth. Ojukwu was the only one of those officers who was DEFINITELY not part of that 1966 coup with Nzeogwu , Ifeajuna, Banjo and the rest.

8 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by christopherozo: 4:26pm On Oct 09, 2017
Guestlander:


The truth is out. No one is buying this st.upid propaganda any longer.
Ojukwu was a murderous little tyrant.

Like your wretched father.
Here's what you need....

5 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Guestlander: 4:29pm On Oct 09, 2017
christopherozo:


Like your wretched father.
Here's what you need....

Heheheh. ...Ara nta were. You need some hot chocolate like those other terrorists who were made to swim in it.

12 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Guestlander: 4:31pm On Oct 09, 2017
christopherozo:


You have said it all. Banjo suffered the fate of all traitors. It's hard to face it, but that's the truth. Ojukwu was the only one of those officers who was DEFINITELY not part of that 1966 coup with Nzeogwu , Ifeajuna, Banjo and the rest.

Ojukwu was an insecured little tyrant. He couldn't withstand the clout of people like Banjo and Ifeajuna so he killed them, period.

6 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by ProWalker: 4:33pm On Oct 09, 2017
Sorry lady! I have no pity for your father.
Supporting the treacherous igbos is the worst abomination a yoruba man can commit.

3 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by HIGHESTPOPORI(m): 4:39pm On Oct 09, 2017
Guestlander:


Ojukwu was an insecure little tyrant. He couldn't withstand the clout of people like Banjo and Ifeajuna so he killed them, period.
what kind of clout does an afonja have in baifra land?

2 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Guestlander: 4:39pm On Oct 09, 2017
ProWalker:
Sorry lady! I have no pity for your father.
Supporting the treacherous igbos is the worst abomination a yoruba man can commit.

Don't be too harsh brother, that was a different point in Nigerian history. I don't blame those who extended what they thought was a hand of fellowship to others.
The way the Biafrans repaid him is what is alarming.

2 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by Guestlander: 4:40pm On Oct 09, 2017
HIGHESTPOPORI:
what kind of clout does an afonja have in baifra land?

So much clout they have to lead the only meaningful offensive by the Biafrans throughout the war.

4 Likes

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by maruzia: 4:41pm On Oct 09, 2017
Mrchippychappy:
Banjo was NEVER interested in the Biafran cause, he was a traitor right from the moment he set foot on Biafran Territory, He planned with the British Government and the Federal Government to topple Biafra, He and Ifeajuna were promised federal pardon and diplomatic roles. I have read all about it, I know people that where DIRECTLY involved in the war and I have heard and read direct accounts of what happened, this one no be super story, Banjo was never willing to help Biafra from the start.

My dear lady, as a lecturer at University of Ibadan, do yourself a favour and consult the library there to read the accounts of events, even by Yoruba Military officers.
Your father was playing a double game and got caught up in the act

Read ' the five majors', 'why we struck' and even John de st Jorre and Susan Cronjes accounts of the Civil War.
Your father was also guilty of conspiracy and murder, hence Gowon imprisoned him
He betrayed the Nigerian side
He also betrayed the Biafra side
Ask Gowon what became of him. He was no scapegoat, so don't distort the facts
HE WAS A TRAITOR, PURE AND SIMPLE.

11 Likes 1 Share

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by goldrushbooks: 4:43pm On Oct 09, 2017
cristianisraeli:
Fifty years ago, the late Lt. Col Victor Banjo, the 16th Nigerian to be commissioned into the Nigerian Army, was publicly executed reportedly on the orders of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who was then the Military Head of the secessionist Biafra Republic. He was an Ijebu from Ogun State but died fighting on the Biafran side during the Nigerian civil war.
Banjo was before his death, in detention on allegations that he took part in the January 1966 coup, was released by Ojukwu when the war broke out and convinced to lead part of the Liberation Army, which went on the offensive against the Nigerian Army and got as far as Benin, in present day Edo State. Banjo was to declare another republic upon having Benin under his control.
In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, his daughter, Mrs. Olayinka Omigbodun, a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Ibadan, recalls how Banjo’s young family was thrown into disarray upon his arrest and detention. She also lamented what she described as the unjust treatment meted out to her father while explaining why she thinks Ojukwu killed his friend, her father.

How does it feel remembering the events that led to the reported execution of your father (Lt. Col. Victor Banjo)?

First and foremost, I must express gratitude to God for keeping us alive and well all these years. Despite the fact that we lost our father while still so young, God has kept us to see this day. We are four children, two boys, two girls. I am the third. We’ve all been able to go through school and acquire degrees. All of us are alive and healthy.

I thank God for the kind of parents he gave me. Our father died 50 years ago and our mum 20 years ago. She was a widow for 30 years before she also went to be with the Lord. I am proud of them. It was 30 years of struggle and difficulty, but with our late mother determined to fulfil her promise to our dad, we made it.

Why do you think he did that to his friend?

He conveniently blamed Banjo and three other men. Lt. Col Ifeajuna, Alele and one other for sabotaging the Biafran efforts. He needed to tell the people who were losing faith in him something new as a reason for the defeats. His fear about the imminent fall of Enugu was also driving him to do something. So, on trumped up charges, my father and three other men were tried by a Kangaroo court and killed by firing squad in 1967.

The trial did not reveal any evidence linking Banjo with any act of treason against Ojukwu or the Biafran government. In fact, it took a second military tribunal to convict Banjo because the first tribunal stated that the evidence presented to it was insufficient to prove Banjo’s guilt in the case. Unsatisfied and not ready to let my father off the hook, Ojukwu constituted another tribunal speedily.

Apparently, it was a clear case of sacrificing someone as a scapegoat because while my father was looking forward to assisting Ojukwu further with the Biafran war in spite of the huge risk and sacrifice involved for him as a person, Ojukwu was looking for a way of implicating him for sabotage so as to retain the control of the region. Ojukwu betrayed my father by killing him.


And you don’t think his not agreeing in the secession was a reason he got into trouble with Ojukwu?

Well, they were friends and friends disagree. They probably must have disagreed on that before then because my father never hid his patriotism. But again, I was told that hours after the execution, Enugu fell. I am a Professor. Human beings are very fickle. We are wont to always look for excuses. For scapegoats; so, my father was simply the sacrifice.

He knew my father was up for one Nigeria. Even before drafting him into the war on his side, he knew my father was a patriot who wanted one united Nigeria. After the war we left Nigeria for Sierra Leone but my mother brought us back because my father, in his letters, had insisted we must be raised as Nigerians. So, his patriotism was never in doubt. Ojukwu merely executed him to cover up his own failures as a leader of the war.

But Gowon later became the Head of State. Why didn’t he release your dad?

After Gowon was installed as Head of State, my father made several overtures to him for his release. But Gen. Gowon refused to release him even though he knew he was not part of the coup. The only concession he gave was that Banjo could be transferred to a prison in Lagos if he so wished. My father rejected the offer.

Even when my father wrote Ironsi from prison in Ikot Ekpene, on June 1, 1966, he was wondering what on earth he did to warrant being imprisoned. He faulted the way he was being treated and asked for justice, fairness and loyalty from Ironsi as a loyal officer. He saw his detention as a grievous crime against him. He pleaded his innocence and asked to be released. There is really no basis for tagging him as a ‘coupist’. I sincerely think setting the records straight is one of the things Nigeria, and the likes of Gen. Gowon, owe us as his family and children.

It is very painful for us not knowing how he ended really. Not knowing where his remains are. Not even the exact date of his death. We only read in the book of a foreign journalist who had witnessed his execution of the date and circumstances. Beyond that, there is little or nothing to prove how he ended. This is very sad.

http://thenationonlineng.net/victor-banjos-daughter-ojukwu-betrayed-father-killing/



It is the same set of people that will be shouting betrayal upandan.

1 Like

Re: Olayinka Omigbodun, Victor Banjo’s Daughter: Ojukwu Betrayed My Dad, Killed Him by victorDanladi: 4:43pm On Oct 09, 2017
so this woman is victor banjo daughter.she taught me psychiatry at Ibadan medical school.she is a professor of psychiatry.

2 Likes 1 Share

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