₦airaland Forum

Realman87:
Interesting. Afonjas have been trashed again. Those of us who have relaible facts of history know that Ojukwu released Gowon from Calabar prison. In fact, after Ironsi was killed and Gowon took over; the tension in the East was immeasurable. Gowon could not send orders to the East knowing fully well that Ojukwu would Never tolerate such. The whole East was firmly under Ojukwu.
However, when Awo was released by the East/Ojukwu; he was still a convict to the Northern led Nigeria. It was only after Gowon's pardon that he became really free. The facts are there within the military records.

omonnakoda:
Firmly under control hahahahah

Why was Ojukwu begging for repatriation of northern soldiers

Realman87:
Guy. Look inwards and ask yourself what your problem is. i believe you are a graduate. Go to Army headquarters or NDA and ask officers about Ojukwu. they will tell you. You said Ojukwu 'begged'. I should not even answer you. An igbo man, beg... my friend, get lost with your inferiority complex. Afonjas must accept that they are inferior to the igbos. No amount of hate or envy will ursurp the truth. Trying to measure up to the igbos by debating on nairaland threads won't change the fact that many nigerians already know. I must tell you that many tribes on nairaland can see through all yaribas' shenanigans.

Realman87:
Guy. Look inwards and ask yourself what your problem is. i believe you are a graduate. Go to Army headquarters or NDA and ask officers about Ojukwu. they will tell you. You said Ojukwu 'begged'. I should not even answer you. An igbo man, beg... my friend, get lost with your inferiority complex. Afonjas must accept that they are inferior to the igbos. No amount of hate or envy will ursurp the truth. Trying to measure up to the igbos by debating on nairaland threads won't change the fact that many nigerians already know. I must tell you that many tribes on nairaland can see through all yaribas' shenanigans.

Realman87:
Guy. Look inwards and ask yourself what your problem is. i believe you are a graduate. Go to Army headquarters or NDA and ask officers about Ojukwu. they will tell you. You said Ojukwu 'begged'. I should not even answer you. An igbo man, beg... my friend, get lost with your inferiority complex. Afonjas must accept that they are inferior to the igbos. No amount of hate or envy will ursurp the truth. Trying to measure up to the igbos by debating on nairaland threads won't change the fact that many nigerians already know. I must tell you that many tribes on nairaland can see through all yaribas' shenanigans.

Aigbofa:
I have seen videos of Ibos begging Malaysian police officers even when the officer was throwing insults at ibos calling them the scourge of the continent.

I can still remember the officer's voice saying; Stanley. ...Stanley you sit there and lie and lie! Lolzzz

Stop that stupid lie about ibo man and begging.

omonnakoda:
What East? Were soldiers distributed along ethnic lines? No

Benjamin Adekunle was in Enugu. The later nemesis of Ojukwu.
Yar'adua who would later return from Lagos to lead an assault on Onitsha was in Enugu.

Like I asked befored .Why was Ogunewe locking the armory if the troops were loyal and under control

One thing you say is true there was al ot of chaos for several days and Ojukwu took sanctuary in a police station

Many people writing here are childfren and have no idea what Nigeria looked like in those days.

There was not asingle express road anywhere not even Lagos Ibadan or the Port Harcourt Aba.

So to Imagine that somehow Ojukwu would under all that chaos have the thought that the next thing to do is to release Awo and send him to Lagos really defies logic.

How he would have enforced that in Calabar from Enugu in such chaos is hard to imagine.

I have asked what was the status of the release? No answer. Was it a State Pardon ? No Answer.

Can a regional governor give orders to release a federal prisoner convicted of treason?

ificatchmodeh:
I've reply your post on this..
But you choose this post to requestioned me..

Won't argue on this much..
Ojukwu released Awo..and Gowon nigeria played politics with him after his released.

Forget what the told you on press..or interview...
Pray one day you will get a closed one on one with this retired generals or be opportune to some "classified"

You will understand nigeria better..
Nigeria is a country built on lies and secrecy...or you thinkis an easy feat to erase "history" from schools..NO!
Because with contemporary technology and knowledge..questions will be asked..andthe truth about the country unveils.

They're much wiser..than we think.
For now..enjoy whatever you believe..

ificatchmodeh:
I've reply your post on this..
But you choose this post to requestioned me..

Won't argue on this much..
Ojukwu released Awo..and Gowon nigeria played politics with him after his released.

Forget what the told you on press..or interview...
Pray one day you will get a closed one on one with this retired generals or be opportune to some "classified"

You will understand nigeria better..
Nigeria is a country built on lies and secrecy...or you thinkis an easy feat to erase "history" from schools..NO!
Because with contemporary technology and knowledge..questions will be asked..andthe truth about the country unveils.

They're much wiser..than we think.
For now..enjoy whatever you believe..

Aigbofa:
I have seen videos of Ibos begging Malaysian police officers even when the officer was throwing insults at ibos calling them the scourge of the continent.

I can still remember the officer's voice saying; Stanley. ...Stanley you sit there and lie and lie! Lolzzz

Stop that stupid lie about ibo man and begging.

BabaRamota1980:
you gotta be freaking deficient mentally to make this statement in bold. The standard of investigative reporting and record keeping is press.

Oh I forgot, Ibos use village rumor mill for standard report and record keeping.

ificatchmodeh:
With all your grammar..na so your brain reach..adashu!
Everyone na ibo to you...
You scared of em..
Face the freaking truth..they released your Awo from jail...
Your argument here won't change that fact..
Just deal with it.

omonnakoda:
You are a child so keep quiet and stop talking rubbish if you do not have facts we are talking about events between July 29 and August 3 1966 , FIVE DAYS

can you tell us the date that Ojukwu released Awo and the circumstances.

BabaRamota1980:
There is only one group that clown on the internet like you have been doing....it is not Yoruba, it is not Hausa or Fulani, it is not Bini or Edo, it is not Ijaw or Isoko or Urhobo, Efik and Annang dont come here and make @ss of themselves as you have done, Kanuri don t do it, not Nupe, not Tiv or Igala.....so who you be if not the tribe of clowns, the Ibos?

ificatchmodeh:
You see how your ignorance is radiating with o much confidence..

For your mind..
We're talking about nigerian history..and every nigeria ought to know their history.

Maybe you were unfortunate not to attain history class or maybe not quite informed.

Is you..
So all those tribe can choose what they want to be at a particular time of dicourse..not mme or my kind..
Am OPU ABADI..I swim the ocean..and proud of it.
Get off

BabaRamota1980:
there is no Nigerian ashamed to answer their father's house.....except those who identify as bast3rds.

divicode:
Please provide the link little flatttty

ificatchmodeh:
Papa I've answered your questions..but you choose to avoid it..so that you can keep trolling.
I ain't get time for that.. you're being mischievous..carry on.
But is not gonna change the fact that AWO was released from Jail by Ojukwu..

your argument here change nothing..history has been made already and can't be undone.
Is closed..enjoy!

Nairaland na different matters dey..

ificatchmodeh:
Speaking in language...

Am OPU ABDI..you know what I mean..
Am proud..

Guess you're confused..want me to tell you wia am from?

Hahahaa..
Nigeria don't start and end in your papa house..

I swim the ocean..

BabaRamota1980:
For millions of refugees fleeing East, Nigeria starts and ends in Oduduwa land.

omonnakoda:
The Gazette

Government Notice No. 1207/1966 ordering the release of Awo on August 2, 1966.

ificatchmodeh:
Wetin bring east come...

You..you..i mean you.
You're so scared of ibos...
So insecure..

Haba!!
You're kinsmen won't be proud of you at all..

Am OPU ABADI..i swim the ocean..

Does that sound east /ibo to you?

People are reading your comments and you're displaying your insecurity /ignorance..

BabaRamota1980:
Dude, have you seen what justbhappened? Omonna just nuked you and your clown brothers with a gazette.
Should we discount the gazette as well, like you asked we do for investigative reporting?


The Gazette



Government Notice No. 1207/1966 ordering the release of Awo on August 2, 1966.

bayooooooo:
Government Notice No. 1207/1966 published August 2, 1966. It can also be found in Crisis and Conflict in Nigeria (vol 1) by A.H.M. Kirk-Greene pg 372.

By His Excellency Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon, Head of the National Military Government, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Nigeria.

WHEREAS Chief Obafemi Awolowo, having been duly convicted of the offences of treasonable felony, conspiracy to commit a felony and
conspiracy to effect an unlawful purpose, and sentenced to imprisonment for ten, five and two years respectively on all three counts:
AND WHEREAS the said Chief Obafemi Awolowo, having served a portion of the sentence originally imposed on him in September 1963:
AND WHEREAS the Supreme Military Council after reviewing his case, is pleased to remit the sentence and to grant a full pardon:
NOW THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 101 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic and of all other power enabling it
in that behalf, the Supreme Military Council do hereby remit unexpiredportion of the sentence imposed on the aforesaid chief Obafemi Awolowo
and grant him a full pardon. GIVEN UNDER my hand and the Public Seal of the Republic of Nigeria at Lagos this 2nd day of August, one thousand nine hundred and sixty-six.

omonnakoda:
http://www.waado.org/nigerdelta/nigeria_facts/MilitaryRule/Omoigui/NorthCounterCoup.htm

Indeed, official circles in the eastern region were “blacked out” initially from information flow, particularly during the first 24 hours of the revolt.The commander of the 1st battalion in Enugu, Lt. Col. David “Baba” Ogunewe, a thoroughly professional and experienced officer who had risen from the ranks, found out about the Abeokuta mutiny late at night on July 29 by accident.Captain Ogbonna had tried to reach the battalion from Abeokuta.

The duty officer at the 1st battalion (who happened to be a northerner) was not on seat when Ogbonna’s message came through, so it was passed directly to Lt. Col. Ogunewe, thus giving him an early insight into events, which proved to be crucial.He went to the messin the early hours of July 30 and found a group of northern officers (including Lts. Shehu Musa Yar-Adua, A. A. Abubakar, Sale Mamood, Daudu Suleiman, Captains Muhammadu Jega, Gibson S. Jalo and others) fully dressed in combat fatigues and apparently talked them out of taking precipitate action, tapping an incredible reserve of goodwill he had always had with the boys.Ogunewe’s successful confrontation with the northern officers is all the more remarkable when it is realized that he was unarmed and had only been in command of that battalion for six months.It was truly a testimony to his man-management skills in crisis, well worth study for future reference.It turns out though, that these officers had already been having meetings behind Hotel Presidential in Enugu to discuss their own contributions to the “Aure” plot and the neutralization of Lt. Col. Ojukwu. However, they had decided after careful appreciation of the situation, surrounded by a hostile population, to restrict themselves to self defence to avoid reprisals against their families.

In an October 1979 interview with the FRCN,Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (rtd), now deceased, recalled his role as the Adjutant of the 1st Battalion in those dark days.According to him, therewas no plan initially to kill anyone although he clearly intended to arrestLt. Col C. Ojukwu, then Military Governor.He corroborates other sources who have since said that the coup date had in fact been put off when informal word came late on Friday night, more likely early Saturday July 30, from Captain Remawa in Abeokuta, that violence had broken out.At first Yar'Adua did not know what to make of it since Remawa was not part of the original "Aure" plot.But then he got dressed and alerted other northern officers. By the time he returned to the office at about 4 am, as he put it:"........my CO and all the Igbo officers had been there at three, because somebody had also rang them from Abeokuta and told them what was happening."This "somebody" was none other than Captain Ogbonna.

A joint guard, consisting of northern and southern soldiers was then posted to guard the armoury, choking off weapon flow.Ogunewe then notified Lt. Col Ojukwu and later ordered that all officers irrespective of regional origin should live together in the mess while all Other Ranks were to live onthe parade ground.In this manner, no group could conspire or make a move without detection.The only officer authorized to be armed at this point was Ogunewe himself who sat with the other officers while everyone looked at everyone.

At 11am on July 30, Ojukwu called a meeting of the regional executive council at which they were briefed on events in other parts of the country.Before then Ojukwu had been on the telephone all morning contacting units and eastern officers all over the country to get a picture of events.He is quoted by NU Akpan, former Secretary to the Government of the Eastern region after one of his calls, as saying:“One thing is clear, however; these people are quite bent on annihilating the Ibos.”Later that day, for reasons that have never been clarified, he slipped out of Enugu (leaving Ogunewe behind) and went to Onitsha from where he was making his calls to Ogundipe in Lagos encouraging him to stand firm.Much later that night, urged by Mr. P. Okeke who was then Commissioner of Police, he returned to Enugu, moving his office, home and relatives to the Police HQ, surrounded by a special guard of Mobile Policemen of Igbo origin.That same evening, eastern chiefs and traditional rulers arrived back from the Traditional Rulers meeting in Ibadan, bringing with them information about the kidnapping of Ironsi and Fajuyi.

By Sunday July 31st, when Ojukwu called the executive council again, he announced that Brigadier Ogundipe had since told him that the situation was out of control.Shortly thereafter, Ogundipe himself could not be contacted.It was not until Lt. Col. Gowon’s broadcast on August 1st that a transient semblance of order became discernible.Ojukwu made a broadcast in response in which he said, inter-alia,

“In the course of this rebellion, I have had discussions with the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Brigadier Ogundipe, who as the next most senior officer in the absence of the Supreme Commander, should have assumed command of the Army………”

”During those discussions, it was understood that the only condition on which the rebels would agree to cease fire were: that the Republic of Nigeria be split into its component parts; and that all southerners in the North be repatriated to the South and that Northerners resident in the South be repatriated to the North……”

“…….the brutal, planned annihilation of officers of Eastern Nigerian origin in the last two days has again cast serious doubts as to whether the people of Nigeria, after these cruel and bloody atrocities, can ever sincerely live together as members of the same nation….…”

“….I have further conveyed to the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, my fellow military governors and the Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters, my understanding that the only intention of the announcement made by the Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters today is the restoration of peace in the country whilst immediate negotiations are begun to allow the people of Nigeria to determine the form of their future association.Good night and thank you.”

Ojukwu thenspent the next one week insisting that northern soldiers in Enugu (who comprised no less than two thirds of the battalion) be removed from the city before he would consider leaving the safety of the Police HQ back to the State House.

Through all this, Ogunewe kept in touch with Gowon in Lagos and was crucial to arrangements that were subsequently made to successfully repatriate non-eastern soldiers and their families out of the region - a remarkable achievement for which he was rewarded by being fully reabsorbed into the Nigerian Army without loss of rank after the civil war.But even this was not so straightforward.For one, Ogunewe had to resist all kinds of entreaties to allow vengeful Igbo mobs gain entry into the barracks to liquidate the northern troops there.Secondly, according to then Major (later Brigadier) Benjamin Adekunle, Lt. Col. Murtala Muhammed had contacted Lt. Yar’Adua secretly and ordered him to break into the armoury to secure arms and ammunition for northern soldiers - to the exclusion of others.This led to a clash between them which almost cost Adekunle his life later on.

Just under two weeks after Gowon came to power, Major Adekunle was tasked to lead the 1st battalion detachment by train which was granted safe passage to transport non-eastern soldiers and their families to Kaduna enroute to Lagos in exchange for surviving eastern soldiers in other regions.The suspicion was so high that Adekunle gave orders that every individual soldier was to guard every other individual soldier.When Adekunle got to Kaduna, some Igbo officers released from Kaduna Prison were placed onboard the train (without his knowledge, he says, but with his knowledge others say) on their way to Lagos enroute to the eastern region.Some of the northern soldiers on the train did not like the arrangement seeing as they felt they had not yet contributed their quota to the mayhem going on elsewhere, so they mutinied, killing the Igbo officers.As Brigadier Adekunle (rtd) put it:

“Yar’Adua arranged for their heads to be cut and threw their bodies over the door, chained with other officers …….”

Other sources say the bodies were thrown into a river near Minna.It turns out that there were a few pregnant women onboard the train who went into labor when they witnessed this spectacle.Therefore, Adekunle ordered the train stopped at Minna Station to take the women in labor to hospital.It was there that he says Lt. SM Yar’Adua attacked him with a bayonet.