₦airaland Forum

kimbraa:
At that era, it was said that Igbos were the most educated in Nigeria and occupied most government parastatal in the country but after the war, the federal government stole their money and gave Igbos who had money in banks a flat sum of twenty pounds. Isn't that stealing? Some of their landed and housing properties where claimed by Hausas and Yorubas. Yet, someone will say they didn't loose anything.

The "No man's land" that Lagos State is called didn't start today. Igbos were the ones running that state.

LMAO. The occupation of most government parastatals only began with Decree 34 and ended with the demise of the Ironsi regime. About being the most educated and properties taken over by Hausas and Yorubas; standard Tales by Moonlight.

logica:
What role did he play in the coup? We know about the 5 Majors. We know of Nzeogwu in Kaduna and Ifeajuna in Lagos. What was his designated area of operation?

Exactly. Dude is obviously not a reader

lawani:
It was ironsi that jailed banjo not gowon

No mind am. Won't read and refuse to be taught by those who do

Banjo wanted to overthrow Ojukwu government and take Biafra back to Nigerian so that Gowon will not kill him because of his involvement in the 1966 coup

Arsenalboi:
Banjo wanted to overthrow Ojukwu government and take Biafra back to Nigerian so that Gowon will not kill him because of his involvement in the 1966 coup

If any of u guys has never seen pure nonsense, this is what it looks like

cristianisraeli:
When Ojukwu released him, why didn’t he leave the country instead of joining the Biafran Army?

He made effort. But his papers were with gen. Gowon which he refused to give him. And I read somewhere that Ojukwu, who wanted someone that will be counselling him, convinced him to stay. He must have really been in conflict at that time whether to stay or join us abroad. He loved his country, so I am not surprised he chose to stay. Ojukwu was his friend, don’t forget.

It was tough like I said growing up without him. Though my mother ensured we survived the tough times, there was a big drop in our social standing and our finances. I remember being in school and some children were served milk while we couldn’t afford it. We just watched while others drank the milk. Looking back now, I could imagine what it was like. We had to live on the meagre resources my mum could garner. This is why we are saying the authorities should do the right thing by correcting the impression about our father, we need an official statement on him. He is N16, meaning he was the 16th officer commissioned into the Nigerian Army. He deserved to be better treated.

All we knew and still know is that he was arrested on Monday, January 17, 1966 when he went to work. My mother and I were sad to watch the heroic reception given Ojukwu, the man who killed my father in 1982 when he returned from exile. He also got a state burial upon his death in 2011. We couldn’t understand what manner of country this is.

How did your mother cope with the situation back then?

My mother died 20 years ago, but before her death, she made some requests and those remains our request even today. These requests are in a letter my mother wrote to Gen Yakubu Gowon on May 31, 1972, two years after the civil war ended. Gen. Gowon was then the Head of State. She requested the return of my father’s safe, removed personally by Gen. Gowon from 21B Cooper Road Ikoyi on Monday, January 17, 1976. In the safe were some vital documents and belongings of my father and his immediate family. We want that back because it will go a long way in helping us catch up on those times.

She also asked for the return of some land papers and money as well as my father’s cars namely a Mercedez Benz WAL 720 and another car. She wrote the number too. She also asked for the death certificate of my father. So, we call on the authorities to help out with these so we can have these things to cherish about our dear father who was unjustly sacrificed by this country.

And personally, I have a lot of unanswered questions. Why is my father still being tied up with the January 1966 coup? Why was my father arrested at all? Even when it was clear to the then Head of State, that my father wasn’t part of the coup, why did he choose to leave my father in prison? Gen. Gowon took the steel cabinet from our home, why hasn’t he returned the cabinet? When exactly did my father die? Where are his remains? I seek answers to these questions. And someone like Gen Gowon is still around to help out with answers to these questions and many more.

It will not be well with Ojukwu! Even in death! His memory is cursed! Those who wish to defend him will partake in his curse. An arrogant and heartless fool! Cruel as Bleep! Demented eye gorged bearded grizzly! Oloriburuku! Alakoba! Ha!!!

efighter:
The man called Ojukwu sacrificed three million of his brethren for a senseless cause while he ran to Ivory Coast how much killing a Yoruba man.

shakau is sacrificing millions of their people for Hausa's and Yoruba Muslims and herdsmen are equally sacrificing lots of Yoruba's on daily bases so chill it is turn by turn

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.

and the zoo that materialised how market?

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.

Where is my friend Laudate? I wish he could see this. Do you realise that for many years there was a Biafran armoured tank ('Red Devil') abandoned at Ikpoba hill in Benin, as a relic of the unfortunate civil war? The rebels abandoned it there, as they were driven back from the old Midwest across the river .

In addition to the scourge and humiliation of the occupation itself, fleeing Biafran soldiers carried out all kinds of unspeakable acts of brutality against the local population. At the Urhonigbe Rubber Plantation, for example, hundreds of Midwesterners were summarily shot by regular and militia units which had already blazed a ‘scorched-earth’ trail of terror through Benin-West division..

In a pattern of behavior that can only be described as self-destructive, the “liberation” force went molesting, raping, kidnapping, torturing, detaining and even killing local figures whose support they badly needed. For example, Mr. J. O Adeola (Commissioner of Police), Mr. Olu Akpata (Permanent Secretary), Mr. Sam Umweni (of Radio Nigeria, Benin) and Mr. J Imoukhuede (Head of the civil service), were abducted from Benin and taken back to Biafra. They remained in prison (without trial) until the end of the war.

In his memoirs, Ademoyega acknowledges: “The 18th battalion stationed in that port (Warri) was a ragged, ill-equipped and ill-controlled unit. Reports of their lawlessness in town had been scandalous.” Such actions (among others) did not endear them to the people they came to liberate from “the north”. Ademoyega summarized it thus: “Biafran entry into the Midwest was seen by the people, especially the non-Ibos of the State, as an act of foreign aggression.”

Read more: http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-history-biafra-midwest-invasion-1967-lessons-todays-geopolitics/#ixzz4v3uWDl00

Yet, when the Igbo people in the old Midwest area fled eastwards and returned after the war, they got their properties back in Benin and other parts of the region.

In Benin City alone, 213 houses had been abandoned by fleeing Ibos. Many were looted of their contents. The government, before wars end repaired many damaged and abandoned houses; rent collected from tenants in rental property was kept in trust for the Ibo landlords in a Bank in Warri. Similar acts of forthrightness and honesty occurred in other parts of the state. It is fair to say that the problem of “abandoned property” experienced in Port Harcourt by Ibos was not a major issue in the Midwest.

Read more: http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-history-biafra-midwest-invasion-1967-lessons-todays-geopolitics/#ixzz4v3w0yQjZ

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.

Exactly! The likes of Ben Gbulie, Chris Anuforo, Tim Onwuatuegwu, Ademoyega, Donatus Okafor etc.

Victor Banjo halted for three days, refusing to March on to capture Gowon in Lagos. He was given the command of that operation on the agreement that he captures Lagos, and the west secedes alongside Biafra. Instead of following the plans as agreed, he compromised the operation with Lagos, halting for three days to enable the highly fortified Nigerian troops catch up with the exhausted and fatigued Biafran troops. This delay resulted to the destruction of the Biafran forces at Ore! The mistake Banjo made was returning to Biafra, and refusing to explain the million dollar question of 'why he halted?' The man sabotaged Biafra, betrayed Ojukwu, and paid the ultimate price. An officer of his rank ought to know better the consequences of his action.

He's NOT a smart man! Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna were smarter. Ifeajuna is a crazy and smart saboteur! He's more of a saboteur than Banjo.

Professor is speaking out of sentiments. Sentiments has no room here, Madam.

Tomoarika:
To me Col Banjo remains the most misunderstood character of that period.

He wasn't a participant of the Jan 66 coup although he could have supported the reasons behind it as he was considered by the young majors (from Wale Ademoyega's account) yet he was punished for it.
Was he ever tried and found guilty as part of the Jan 66 group? No

Now when he was released by his friend Ojukwu, did he really have a choice as to whether to fight for Biafra or not?

What were his real reasons for halting at Ore?

Remember the Midwest region had been declared a neutral territory prior to the Midwest invasion whereby the then Mil Gov Ejoor refused the FG from keeping troops in the Midwest. With the Federal troops bearing down on the capital Enugu, the attempt to take Lagos could have brought relief to Biafra but this failed leading the FG to declare a full out war against the rebels (as they were called)

Wale Ademoyega claimed in his book that the four; Banjo, Ifeajuna, Alale and Agbam were executed on the charge "Intention to Overthrow" rather than an actual attempt at it which shouldn't have been enough for the sentence.

Banjo could be a scapegoat, a traitor, a victim of circumstances depending on who you ask. Truth is, we may never know which. It's a pity dead men tell no tales.

That period was just a crazy one. May we not experience another like it.

I think his real reasons for halting at Ore, were simple. He did not have adequate men, material, resources and guns to continue the expedition to Lagos. He knew once he left Ore, news would have reached Lagos, and the authorities would be warned ahead of his arrival. They would come out guns blazing to halt his advance. So he tried to buy time to negotiate a safe entry into the old Western region. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, August 9, 1967, the fourth anniversary of the democratic creation of the Midwestern region, a motorized rifle brigade consisting of 3,000 Biafran soldiers and militiamen, under the command of Lt. Col. [“Brigadier”] Victor Banjo, crossed the Niger Bridge at Onitsha into Asaba. The Biafran Invasion of the Midwest had begun.

Transported in over 100 trucks and civilian vehicles, this was the nucleus of what eventually was planned to be designated the “101st division”, also known as the “Liberation Army of Nigeria” or the “Midwest Expeditionary Force”. Upon arrival in the Midwest, they split up into three spearheads, destined to peal off from one another at Agbor. Units fired indiscriminately into the air as they arrived unchallenged at successive tactical objectives. The seizure of the Midwest was essentially accomplished within 12 hours.

The 101st HQ group included Major (‘Lt. Col.’) Emmanuel Ifeajuna as Chief of Staff and Captain (“Major”) Joe Isichie as QuarterMaster General. Much later in the campaign, Lt. (“Major”) Fola Oyewole (upon release from prison in Enugu, where he (and Adeleke) had been detained for the January 15 coup) became Isichie’s deputy

The 101st HQ had itself been withdrawn to Agbor two days before, on September 18th...... The decision to move the Liberation Army HQ to Agbor, understandably made in the light of a brutally honest assessment of the military situation, became a major political controversy in Biafra. Banjo (and Ademoyega) were later accused of “abandoning Benin”, yielding 40 miles of frontline to the enemy without a fight!

The decision to invade the Midwest was a risky military gamble that left approximately 7,000 Biafran troops (at that time) stretched over 39,000 square miles. Against this backdrop of logistic overstretch, there was disagreement among key Biafran Commanders about the pace and objectives of the invasion.

The reality was that Banjo knew that his “liberation army” was a marginal outfit. It was unprepared to deal with any serious resistance in either Lagos or Ibadan, both of which had since recovered from the initial shock of his march into the Midwest. Only a negotiated entry (with popular support) seemed reasonable at that point and some form of reconciliation was still at the back of his mind.

Indeed, at his trial in Enugu, Banjo stated: “In my opinion, the minimum condition for the continued successful prosecution of the war has ceased to exist…It is my view that, while we held the control of the Midwest we had a good political bargaining power within the context of Nigeria.”

With arguments among his commanders and so much on his mind, (including ongoing power struggles and policy debates back in Biafra) Banjo hesitated at Ore, which later became the scene of a very bloody battle on August 29. Some historians now regard the last Ore battle as the turning point of the civil war. Federal troops (using old colonial survey maps of the bush-paths and hills, which were not available to the Biafrans) pummeled the Biafran spearhead between Ohosu (Ofusu) and Ore

In addition, there were serious command, control and logistic problems and errors. The so-called “Liberation Army of Nigeria” was a poorly armed, poorly led and barely trained ragtag outfit. Although (theoretically) there were as many as 28 fully trained Midwest Ibo officers available to assist Biafran officers in commanding the force, very few of these officers actually offered themselves once the Biafrans were in the Midwest.

Once the federal counter-offensive began, the turnover of officers increased substantially. Lt. Col. Ivenso asked for a sick leave away from the northern front. “Lt. Col”. Henry Igboba took over but soon simply lost the will to fight. He cited the federal advantage in numbers, weapons, and ‘white mercenaries’, in addition to his own frustration with Biafran troops. Relieved of command, he was detained by Banjo in the Benin prison....

An ambivalent Major David Odiwo replaced Igboba, only to cross over to the federal side a few days later. Thus, ‘Lt. Col.’ Chukwuka was re-deployed from Warri to command the Irrua front, supported by Captain Adeleke who showed up from Enugu. An inexperienced ‘Major’ Nsudoh replaced Chukwuka in the southern front...

Moreover, the 101st Division had no support weapons whatsoever. The 11th battalion at Auchi had three (3) machine guns along with rifles. The 18th battalion in Warri had two (2) machine guns along with rifles. Only 14% of men in the 19th battalion in Benin had weapons. Even the vaunted 12th battalion that had been slated to take Lagos had no mortars, until a single 3 inch mortar was sent from Enugu at the end of the second week of the invasion.

Shortly before Murtala Mohammed took Auchi, Ojukwu (who was still entertaining grandiose delusions about a counter-attack on Ilorin), made an additional 81mm mortar tube available to Ademoyega. Ifeajuna sent ‘Molotov cocktails’ (petrol bombs) when Irrua became threatened. It may well be these petrol bombs that caused a “poisonous gas” scare among federal troops at Eyaen.

Read more: http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-history-biafra-midwest-invasion-1967-lessons-todays-geopolitics/#ixzz4v3z3zj92

maruzia:
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.

Gowon NEVER imprisoned Banjo. It was Ironsi that did, cos of his involvement in the coup. Ojukwu released him and other coup plotters imprisoned by Ironsi. He was lucky to have been imprisoned in the east, else he would have died with the other unfortunate coup plotters imprisoned in the west and north, whom were summarily executed and some (in the North) buried alive, e.g Major Chris Anuforo...

WetinConsignMe:
There are millions of Igbos. How many Igbo people have u dealt with to come that conclusion. Hateful bigotry is blinding u and killiig u. There are people not to be trusted in every tribe and also trustworthy people. Free your mind, open your eyes and try to see the good in your fellow man. Stop being a hateful bigoted mumu.

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kimbraa:
Cowards don't go to war with their enemy. Ojukwu loved his people, and was fighting for their liberation from a country that doesn't give a fùck about the lives of its citizens but kept screaming the "One Nigeria" mantra when sectional killings was going on. When the Igbos were massacred in Lagos and northern Nigeria, what did the government do?.

Some of you still think Ojukwu was fighting for a personal course.

I read from a silly lady that the Igbos didn't loose properties so they should stop saying their properties where stolen. At that era, it was said that Igbos were the most educated in Nigeria and occupied most government parastatal in the country but after the war, the federal government stole their money and gave Igbos who had money in banks a flat sum of twenty pounds. Isn't that stealing? Some of their landed and housing properties where claimed by Hausas and Yorubas. Yet, someone will say they didn't loose anything.

The "No man's land" that Lagos State is called didn't start today. Igbos were the ones running that state.

Why do you people tell such huge lies? Igbos did not run anything in Lagos in the '60s. Lagos the federal capital at that time was restricted to Lagos Island, Ikoyi, Marina, parts of Apapa, etc. The rest of the city like Ilupeju, Ikeja, Maryland, Yaba etc was under the old Western region. It was merged to form Lagos state when Gowon created the 12 states in mid-1967 in order to checkmate Ojukwu who was bent on seceding. So what were the Igbos running in Lagos/old Western region?

_{cc: ODVanguard, Omofunaab, MasterChen, Sanchez01, okway, Throwback, MayorofLagos, logica, Prowalker}

humilitypays:
Banjo was jailed by Nigerian government for allegedly involving in the 1966 coup....Gowon refused to release him after he took over....the civil war broke out, Ojukwu released both Awolowo (before the war) and Banjo.

Banjo knew his release is not by Nigerian government but by the new Biafra government where he was serving jail term....so for him to return to Nigeria, Gowon will jail him back....or even execute him....so he needed to use the war to his advantage, he stayed back and decided to fight for Biafra in a cunning way so that he can be getting firsthand military info which he sent back to Gowon so that Gowon could see him as a patriotic Nigerian and pardon him to return to Nigeria a free man with all his properties, military ranks, etc in tact.

But luck ran out of him....Ojujwu led Biafran gover‎nment got to know about his secret after the Biafran soldiers lost Ore and Benin!

Hope u get it now He was in between two deaths, thats how odd life can be to some people, sadly‎

Ojukwu never released Awolowo. Gowon did. That was why Awolowo joined Gowon's cabinet. Stop trying to twist the facts. They are all in public domain.

humilitypays:
They almost did if not for sabotages and later full British military backup with air raids.

Do you know that some of the Biafran military commanders like Banjo saw the victory of Biafra and became nervous to the extent some of the top commanders started envying Ojukwu and began to plot coup to kill Ojukwu so that they would be the commander in chief of Biafran state they thought has been achieved, this is part of the reasons for the delay of Biafra military operation at Ore which gave Nigeria and Britain the time to regroup and re-attack with full force.‎

The 101 Liberation Army commanded by Banjo would never have been able to capture Lagos. They would have been destroyed en-route Lagos and that was exactly what happened in the end. The Federal forces had trained combatants, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 aircraft from the Soviet Union, and lots of ammunition at their disposal. Compare that to Banjo's army that had less than 12 machine guns for 3,000 rag-tag soldiers, (out of which only 14% were armed) who were inexperienced, poorly trained and lacked discipline. No matter how quickly they moved, do you think Banjo's forces would have reached Lagos in one piece without encountering a counter-attack? You think the Federal forces would just have sat down in Lagos waiting to welcome them with open arms?

At the end of the day, what Banjo feared, was exactly what happened. The entire 101 Biafran Liberation army were routed at Ore, and their soldiers fled into the bushes, trying to find their way back to the East. The truth was that Banjo was sent on a suicide mission, but he failed to see it, until it was too late.

By the time he took stock of his situation, things had gotten out of hand. So the next best thing he could do, was to negotiate a safe passage for himself and his men into the South-West, but unfortunately it did not work out the way he expected.

Banjo had forgotten that when you dine with the devil, you need to use a long spoon. He failed to use a long spoon in his dealings with Ojukwu, and ended up paying for it with his life.

lawani:
He could have refused to head the liberation army and advised ojukwu to simmer down and face nsukka axis. nigerian history would have been different had ojukwu agreed but i doubt. Col Banjo was a fine officer who knew Col Ojukwu would kill him but yet he returned to the east. He deserves to be immortalized as a yoruba nationalist.

When Banjo was released he did not come to the West. He was released by Ojukwu so he felt obligated to him, which was why he joined the Biafran forces. Do you think Ojukwu would have listened to Banjo's advice to forget about the Midwest and face Nsukka? No! Ojukwu always wanted to have his way and he listened to nobody. Banjo advised him to appoint a non-Igbo person as the administrator for the old Midwest, but Ojukwu refused.

PrecisionFx:
Nothing in Edo opposed the biafra army.

Many people in Edo opposed the Biafran army. Why was the underground civilian resistance led by Chief Ojomo and Ogbemudia so successful in immobilising the Biafran soldiers?

CeterisXVII:
....

Man, you have time. You think a man whose level of reasoning makes him believe that the same people responsible for any successes recorded in the warfront would then be jealous of Ojukwu (who was never at the fronts) for same successes, will be able to understand all you wrote?

CeterisXVII:
Many people in Edo opposed the Biafran army. Why was the underground civilian resistance led by Chief Ojomo and Ogbemudia so successful in immobilising the Biafran soldiers?

U need to stop reading history from blogs.

The Midwest was no threat in any way, they didn't oppose the Biafra army. A full battalion was headed for Lagos, There's absolutely nothing that the Mid west could do.

PrecisionFx:
U need to stop reading history from blogs.

The Midwest was no threat in any way, they didn't oppose the Biafra army. A full battalion was headed for Lagos, There's absolutely nothing that the Mid west could do.

The Midwest people didn't oppose the Biafran army? Really? Maybe the federal Forces on ground were unable to resist the Biafrans but the civilians certainly resented and resisted them. Isn't that why a civilian resistance was formed? Be careful, a lot of Edo people are on this thread who have elderly relatives that saw what happened during that period. Pls don't believe Biafran propaganda.

Dedetwo:
This is big time lie that can only hold water in Nigeria. Ejoor, along with Katsina, supported Gowon. How Midwestern region remained neutral when Excravos was the training Depot and launching pad of coastal attack against eastern region by 3MCDO. If you have forgotten to read your calendar properly, I suggest you pay it another visit. By July 26, 1968, Ubani (Bonny) in eastern region had been captured by elements of 3MCDO who were trained in Midwestern region and launched the attack from the same region. Please tell how was the region neutral when every attack on the coastal plains of the eastern region started from Midwestern region.

Read una no go read.
I clearly stated prior to d Midwest adventure and you are claiming it's a big lie by quoting 1968 for me.
Do you even know when the (mis)adventure into the Midwest happened? Do you know when 3rd Marine Commando Division was formed?
Your arrogance is astounding.

Vivere:
The Midwest people didn't oppose the Biafran army? Really? Maybe the federal Forces on ground were unable to resist the Biafrans but the civilians certainly resented and resisted them. Isn't that why a civilian resistance was formed? Be careful, a lot of Edo people are on this thread who have elderly relatives that saw what happened during that period. Pls don't believe Biafran propaganda.

There was no war in edo.
No barracks in edo.
no resistance in Edo.

The resistance started in ore.

Col Banjo was not arrested for the 66 coup, he was arrested in the reception of Gen Ironsi"s Office and charged with 'intention to assasinate Ironsi'

PrecisionFx:
There was no war in edo.
No barracks in edo.
no resistance in Edo.

The resistance started in ore.

There was civilian resistance in Edo, please don't tell lies.

On the 20 September 1967, at 8a.m, NBC broadcast the sign the field commanders had been waiting for. “The frogs are swimming; the frogs are swimming.” The CIA’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) monitored and recorded key signals, statements and speeches about the war from every radio station in Nigeria, Biafra and neighbouring countries. And they shared them with American Diplomatic/Consular units, CICSTRIKE (Commander In Chief STRIKE – Swift Tactical Response In Every Known Environment), ACSI (Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence), CINCMEAFSA (Commander in Chief Middle East/South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara) and DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency).

Brooks, the attaché posted to Nigeria, analysed The frogs are swimming intelligence thus: “This informed the 2nd Division and the guerrilla bands operating in various areas of the Midwest that elements of Adekunle’s 3rd Division are already ashore from the Escravos/Forcados creeks.”

Hastily marshalled Midwestern militias had been dealing fires to the Biafran occupiers. It was reported that Urhobo, Ijaw and Itsekiri swimmers were diving underwater and organising surprise attacks on Biafran units and formations along the Ethiope River. In Benin too, they reminded themselves they were the city of Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and the Biafran forces were the latest version of the British expedition forces of the 19th century. Rapidly, young men were organising themselves into deadly underground resistance groups. Old people, who could not fight, were contributing money and their dane guns; young women, like Moremi, were reported to be offering their bodies to get close to these Biafran forces and poison their food. https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/02/26/americas-secret-files-on-ojukwu-2/

Nobody ever presides over his or her own matter and comes out guilty. So madam I don't expect you to admit that your father was a traitor. But history knows him to be so. Go and settle your family squabble with Gowon. He's still alive.

ugotex85:
Nobody ever presides over his or her own matter and comes out guilty. So madam I don't expect you to admit that your father was a traitor. But history knows him to be so. Go and settle your family squabble with Gowon. He's still alive.

The family has reached out to Gowon a couple of times. He has however never responded to these. It is the reason they have the freedom to speak about these matters in public now.

As for presiding over her matter, except for those blinded by prejudice, most people who know the Banjo story agree that Ojukwu murdered Victor Banjo.

VBCampaign:
The family has reached out to Gowon a couple of times. He has however never responded to these. It is the reason they have the freedom to speak about these matters in public now.

As for presiding over her matter, except for those blinded by prejudice, most people who know the Banjo story agree that Ojukwu murdered Victor Banjo.

Ojukwu sent Banjo on an impossible assignment. He did not have enough ammunition or trained soldiers to carry out the task. Ojukwu knew Banjo would fail. And that was what he used to set him up, create fraudulent charges against him and eventually kill him.

Vivere:
Ojukwu sent Banjo on an impossible assignment. He did not have enough ammunition or trained soldiers to carry out the task. Ojukwu knew Banjo would fail. And that was what he used to set him up, create fraudulent charges against him and eventually kill him.

Banjo did not fail. Banjo withdrew.

PFRB:
Banjo did not fail. Banjo withdrew.

LOL. And if he succeeded nko? I guess success would've been getting shot to pieces somewhere between Ore and Lagos.

lawani:
he was arrested in the reception of Gen Ironsi"s Office and charged with 'intention to assasinate Ironsi'

Exactly. That tells a lot about the person of Ironsi himself. Is that how an assassination is carried out? A so called "General" believed that a man who planned to assassinate him will come sit in his office reception. Some even claimed he was arrested after being caught eavesdropping at the door. All manners of shenanigan have been written on Banjo's arrest; but none ever made sense. Clearly, his superiors and colleagues were simply wary of him. This usually stems from superior intelligence.