₦airaland Forum

1966: ASSASSINATION OF ALHAJI (SIR) ABUBAKAR TAFAWA-BALEWA

“Who’s there?” A voice queried from inside. However, Ifeajuna replied by kicking the doors open with his boots.

“You’re under arrest sir,” Ifeajuna said, pointing his gun at the Prime Minister, who looked startled. “Get up sir, we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Alright,” the Prime Minister replied gently, “allow me to dress up.”

He put on a white flowing robe with white trousers, a pair of slippers and his prayer beads. Without fear and a disciplined face, he trudged out of the room and the residence gently as Ifeajuna and his soldiers accompanied him with pointed guns.

When they reached the parked vehicles, Ezedigbo had arrested the Finance Minister, Chief Okotie-Eboh, and had tossed him like a bag of groundnuts into the back of the 3-Ton truck while the Prime Minister was assisted into the backseat of Ifeajuna’s luxurious car, a red Mercedes Benz, as the convoy drove off to the rendezvous.

Some few kilometers to their rendezvous, the Prime Minister became restless and was muttering to himself as he rattled his prayer beads. Okafor hinted Ifeajuna of the situation who quickly slammed the brakes and came out of the car.

“Are you alright sir?” Ifeajuna asked the Prime Minister as he opened the side door. “Or would you like some fresh air?”

To Tafawa-Balewa, it was a rhetorical question and the decision to answer or not rested on him. Without answering the Major, he gently alighted from the car and ambled towards the darkness as Ifeajuna watched anxiously, oblivious to what the Prime Minister was up to.

Then from a slow walk, to a pace and a sprint, the Prime Minister dashed for the darkness. Ifeajuna did not bother to pursue. Quickly, he grabbed his gun from the car, cocked it and aimed for the fleeing Prime Minister whose white outfit contrasted the darkness and conspicuously gave him away.

The “revolution” had failed and the Prime Minister had become a liability to their movement anyway. The Major shot sporadically at the fleeing figure sending the tranquility of the darkness to a bustle of gunfire like the crackle of burning dried leaves.

Tafawa-Balewa fell as Ifeajuna stared in horror at the darkness whether he got his target. The Golden Voice of Africa had been silenced.

Quickly, he moved towards the still body of the Prime Minister and after confirming he was dead, dragged him to a tree trunk and rested the body in a seating position with his clothing still intact.

Then he and Okafor brought out Largema’s corpse from the boot of the car and laid it down beside Tafawa-Balewa’s body. Having realised the coup had failed on their part, they sped, en route Abeokuta-Sagamu, towards Enugu in the East, which was nearly 450 kilometres away.

Source: A Carnage Before Dawn: A Historical Novel on Nigeria's First Coup D'etat by Ayomide Akinbode

You can get the book here:

https://www.okadabooks.com/book/about/a_carnage_before_dawn/16822

whose account is this?
I have read both accounts from Alex Madiebo and Wale Ademoyega there is a sharp contrast to the manner of death of the Primer Minister

This account is distorted from the previous accounts of familiar authors on the same subject matter.

obanqua:
whose account is this?
I have read both accounts from Alex Madiebo and Wale Ademoyega there is a sharp contrast to the manner of death of the Primer Minister

What are the other narratives about the fate of Balewa?

1. Segun Osoba https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/09/balewa%E2%80%99s-death-controversy-as-an-eye-witness-the-body-i-saw-was-fresh-osoba/

2. FFK http://www.femifanikayode.org/who-killed-sir-tafawa-balewa/

3. Mrs Balewa https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/feature/my-husband-was-tricked-and-taken-away-by-his-orderly-late-tafawa-balewa-s-wife/134122.html (Mind you she was not present at the scene and could only have guessed)

4. http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/forum/threads/balewa-killed-five-days-after-jan-66-coup-the-nation.57382/

My point is in spite of the controversy surrounding his death, this post is the first to claim that the Prime Minister attempted to escape from his captors all other accounts say otherwise.

raumdeuter:
What are the other narratives about the fate of Balewa?

Oladimeji1969:
1966: ASSASSINATION OF ALHAJI (SIR) ABUBAKAR TAFAWA-BALEWA

“Who’s there?” A voice queried from inside. However, Ifeajuna replied by kicking the doors open with his boots.

“You’re under arrest sir,” Ifeajuna said, pointing his gun at the Prime Minister, who looked startled. “Get up sir, we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Alright,” the Prime Minister replied gently, “allow me to dress up.”

He put on a white flowing robe with white trousers, a pair of slippers and his prayer beads. Without fear and a disciplined face, he trudged out of the room and the residence gently as Ifeajuna and his soldiers accompanied him with pointed guns.

When they reached the parked vehicles, Ezedigbo had arrested the Finance Minister, Chief Okotie-Eboh, and had tossed him like a bag of groundnuts into the back of the 3-Ton truck while the Prime Minister was assisted into the backseat of Ifeajuna’s luxurious car, a red Mercedes Benz, as the convoy drove off to the rendezvous.

Some few kilometers to their rendezvous, the Prime Minister became restless and was muttering to himself as he rattled his prayer beads. Okafor hinted Ifeajuna of the situation who quickly slammed the brakes and came out of the car.

“Are you alright sir?” Ifeajuna asked the Prime Minister as he opened the side door. “Or would you like some fresh air?”

To Tafawa-Balewa, it was a rhetorical question and the decision to answer or not rested on him. Without answering the Major, he gently alighted from the car and ambled towards the darkness as Ifeajuna watched anxiously, oblivious to what the Prime Minister was up to.

Then from a slow walk, to a pace and a sprint, the Prime Minister dashed for the darkness. Ifeajuna did not bother to pursue. Quickly, he grabbed his gun from the car, cocked it and aimed for the fleeing Prime Minister whose white outfit contrasted the darkness and conspicuously gave him away.

The “revolution” had failed and the Prime Minister had become a liability to their movement anyway. The Major shot sporadically at the fleeing figure sending the tranquility of the darkness to a bustle of gunfire like the crackle of burning dried leaves.

Tafawa-Balewa fell as Ifeajuna stared in horror at the darkness whether he got his target. The Golden Voice of Africa had been silenced.

Quickly, he moved towards the still body of the Prime Minister and after confirming he was dead, dragged him to a tree trunk and rested the body in a seating position with his clothing still intact.

Then he and Okafor brought out Largema’s corpse from the boot of the car and laid it down beside Tafawa-Balewa’s body. Having realised the coup had failed on their part, they sped, en route Abeokuta-Sagamu, towards Enugu in the East, which was nearly 450 kilometres away.

Source: A Carnage Before Dawn: A Historical Novel on Nigeria's First Coup D'etat by Ayomide Akinbode

You can get the book here:

https://www.okadabooks.com/book/about/a_carnage_before_dawn/16822

Adewale Ademoyega was involved in the coup and WROTE HIS OWN ACCOUNT.

CC lzaa onyeoga madridguy buhariguy omenka shalomc iceberg3 itsmeaboki yarimo odvanguard pointzerom t9ksy roger3d imperialyoruba odvanguard yorubaassasin alariiwo

The sad thing is Ifeajuna was just another thug from the former Bendel state (now Edo and Delta). His 'trigger-happy' ways coupled with the tribalism of the igbo folks (except for Nzeogwu) on the team was never gonna make the coup successful anyway.

Nzeogwu (I have high regards and respect for this guy) was successful on his own part of the coup but, his fellow foolish igbo brothers messed it up by sparing Azikwe's life. Nzeogwu wanted one Nigeria and never fought for Biafra but, Ojukwu never trusted him and strategically got rid of him and made it feel like it was the FGN soldiers that killed him.

Nzeogwu stated several times without number that the plan was to install Awolowo as the president... even Tai Solarin (Awolowo fellow kinsman) sheltered Nzeogwu and his men in Ikenne, Ogun State immediately after the coup. Till this day as I speak, the most popular road in Mayflower Sec. School (owned by Tai Solarin) was named after him, "Major Patrick Chukwuma 'Kaduna' Nzeogwu" road. A thing none of his foolish Igbo kinsmen never did for him. . Don't ask me how I know... I had my secondary education there in the 90s.

Nzeogwu was OBJ's bestie.. OBJ would never have killed him. OBJ and the inner core knew Ojukwu put him in arms way while he (Ojukwu) completely disarmed him. He had little choice as he agreed as part of the deal to free him from the FGN prison as a result of the coup.