Today’s Faces Of Soldiers Who Arrested Buhari In IBB Coup

The men pictured above and below when you continued were all Army Majors way back then. They were out according to history record to arrest the Head of State General Buhari during General Babangida's Coup of August 27 1985:
Major Abubakar Umar Dangiwa (General Staff Officer 1, Department of Armour, AHQ)

Major Lawan Gwadabe (just back from US Armour School, Fort Knox)

Major Abdulmumuni Aminu (Military Assistant to the COAS, Ibrahim Babangida)

Major Sambo Dasuki (Staff Officer, HQ Corps of Artillery. Now the present National Security Adviser)

A Brief History

 

At 0600 hours on Tuesday August 27, 1985, snoozy from the laid back atmosphere of a moslem public holiday, unsuspecting Nigerians woke up to familiar cycles of martial music interspersed with a radio announcement made in an unfamiliar voice. It was Colonel J T Dogonyaro, the then Director, Department of Armour, Army HQ. Among other things, he said: 

"A small group of individuals in the Supreme Military Council had abused their power and failed to listen to the advice of their colleagues or the public, about tackling the country's economic problems" He then announced that the regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari had been deposed.

Hours later, at about 1 pm, the more familiar voice of Brigadier Sani Abacha, then GOC, 2nd Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army, based in Ibadan, came on to announce the appointment of Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, then Chief of Army Staff, as the new Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Babangida, having flown back to the capital from Minna, in his home state, where he was allegedly on vacation, subsequently took the title of 'President'.  

The position of Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters was eliminated. Navy Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, then Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command was appointed to the new position of Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the General Staff HQ. This subtle change in title neatly removed the service chiefs from any kind of direct reporting relationship to the new CGS. 

By nightfall of August 26th 1985, with the coup firmly on course, the grim nature of the situation was clear to General Buhari. His Chief of Staff (COS), SHQ was outside the country in Saudi Arabia. His Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) was away to Minna and was not returning calls. Neither could he reach the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Division.  

The Commander, Brigade of Guards had disappeared, arrested at Ikeja. He could not even find his own ADC who had also been arrested. The young Garrison Commander he had relied upon to deliver messages to Ibadan suddenly became scarce. The CO of the 6th Battalion at Bonny camp nearby, Lt. Col. Joshua Madaki, was not on his side. The NSO had no fighting units of its own. The Chairman Joint Chiefs, General Bali, had no Army to command even if he wanted. 

The Minister of Internal Affairs, General Magoro, had no Internal Affairs Troops of his own either and was certainly not going to deploy Customs or Prisons Officers against the Army.Units from the 3rd Division, far away in Jos where Buhari held his last command before January 1984 were too far away - and as was to transpire later that evening, would shortly be without a GOC anyway.

The die was cast and all that remained was for him to wait patiently, surrounded by soldiers from Guards Units of doubtful loyalty at the State House, Dodan Barracks, until daybreak when the curtains fell. 

The rug symbolizing the machinery of State had been pulled from under his feet. At Dodan Barracks, four young Majors were detailed to arrest the Head of State. They were Majors Umar Dangiwa, Lawan Gwadabe, Abdulmumuni Aminu and Sambo Dasuki. They achieved this without much ado. 

In fact General Buhari was said to be waiting for them (some say watching events at the gate on close circuit TV) and allegedly gave orders to bewildered soldiers on the premises that the unusual early morning activities of those who came to arrest him were not to be disrupted. 

He accompanied his captors, initially to Bonny camp from where he was later moved (under House Arrest) to No. 1 Hawkesworth Road, Ikoyi. He was there for less than a week before being moved again, probably to a house in Benin-City. Meanwhile the official premises of the Head of State at State House, Dodan Barracks was ransacked and Buhari’s belongings looted by soldiers. (Culled From Nowa Omoigui's THE PALACE COUP OF AUGUST 27 1985).