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FLASH BACK: Orderly Shares authentic story of General Murtala’s escape from Dimka’s initial gunfire

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…says he would have survived the coup

Had the coup plotters led by Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka not noticed the door of General Murtala Muhammed’s Mercedes Benz car opened minutes after it was sprayed with bullets from AK-47 assault rifles, triggering another round of firing, perhaps the late Head of State would have survived the brutal attack.

The lone survivor and Orderly to the late Head of State, Staff Sergeant Michael Otuwu, broke his silence in a highly emotional interview with The AUTHORITY Daily, nearly 40 years after the tragic incident.

According to the Orderly, on their way to work on the morning of Friday, February 13, 1976, the Head of State left his personal house in Ikoyi and was headed to work in Dodan Barracks, the seat of government, which he said was being renovated at the time.

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Otuwu disclosed that beside the Head of State was his ADC, Lt. Akintunde Akinterinwa, himself (Otuwu) directly seated in the front passenger’s seat, with Sergeant Adamu Michika behind the wheels.

According to the Orderly, as the unsuspecting car of the Head of State stopped before a row of cars at a junction, he noticed a man in a traditional attire, babanriga (he later identified him as Dimka) who approached the car, removed the flowing robe and pulled out an AK-47 rifle, shooting the driver in the head point blank.

According to the Orderly, having disabled the car by killing the driver, other soldiers clad in robes, ran towards Murtala’s car and opened fire.

“The Head of State, his ADC and I all ducked while the shooting lasted,” narrated the Orderly, sobbing uncontrollably as he recalled the traumatic incident. After the shooting, Otuwu continued, he heard the gunmen running towards the Radio House.

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A few minutes later, he continued, he noticed that the injured ADC opened his door, apparently to come to the aid of the equally injured Commander-in-Chief.

According to the Orderly, the opened door alerted the assailants that the occupants of the vehicle were not dead – and this prompted the coup plotters to return a second time to, again, open fire on the car in order to finish them off. He passed out.

According to Otuwu, Generals TY Danjuma and Olusegun Obasanjo were lucky because they were also targets but escaped because they did not leave for their offices as early as Murtala did and they heard the radio announcement which may have fatefully altered their movement plans.

According to Otuwu, who enlisted in the Nigeria Army in 11 September, 1967, he had moved early that morning with the late Head of State from his Ikoyi residence to Dodan Barracks because the overthrown General Yakubu Gowon had not evacuated the official residence and it was not yet renovated.

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His words:

“I was his Orderly throughout to his last day during the Dimka coup. I was inside the car with him when he was killed.

“On the morning of that February 13, we were going to the office. Sergeant Adamu Michika was the driver; Sergeant Akintunde Akinterinwa, his ADC, sat behind the driver. As an Orderly, I was in front with the driver.

“While the Head of State sat behind me – I was the one who opens the door for him. That fateful day I came up in the morning to carry him to the office in Dodan Barracks. We got to the former Secretariat, now at Ikoyi, which was under construction.

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Before the place they call Alagbon junction, near the labour office. The official car was a Mercedes Benz 600. It is still at the National Museum. There were about four or five vehicles in front of us. You know at that junction there was traffic. We didn’t go with sirens. During his time we didn’t go with escorts with the accompanying out-riders, road-closed signs and all that.

So when we got to the Alagbon junction, the traffic warden stopped the vehicle and we were in the queue. We were the fifth or sixth vehicle behind the forward vehicles that were stopped. That secretariat was under construction.

They put zincs around the compound behind that secretariat. Then some soldiers came in Agbada carrying AK-47 rifles. “They wore uniforms but covered them with Agbada. They had their Kalashnikovs with Agbada cover-up in form of camouflage. We never knew they were even waiting for us. Then one soldier from Golf Road shot and got our driver, Sergeant Michika. Our motor was neutralized.

“Between me and the driver was an arm-rest. On that arm-rest was Oga’s brief case. In this brief case he puts civil dress he could use as needed. When he wants to go to Mosque, he does not like going back to Ikoyi to change.

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“Then some other soldiers converged on us. I can’t recall their number. They began to spray us from the back. All of us took cover. I fell on top of the driver; the blood of the driver covered my head. They thought the bullet got my head.

“After the first shooting and without return of fire they must have assumed that we were all dead. The shooting was actually in two phases. They ran to the NBC to announce the assassination. They shared themselves into three.

“There was a group waiting for Obasanjo when he was about to go to the office. Also another group was waiting for TY Danjuma at Bourdillon – our own was at Ikoyi Road. It happened we were the first target that moved early from the house to the office.

“Before Obasanjo and TY Danjuma moved to their offices they have already heard the radio announcement. By the time of the first shooting, we being the target and their running to NBC to go and announce that they have already finished their assignment, the ADC who was still alive, thinking they were gone, opened the door of the Benz.

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“In the first spraying of the car, except the driver who was killed, the three of us were injured but not dead. On observing the car door opening, one of the attackers, still within range, a Major, called to the others: “he never die, he never die.” He was calling his group to return.

“This time around when they came back they finished their entire magazines. That was what happened. They carried everybody to the mortuary at Igbosere Hospital, not far from Kam Salem Police Headquarters. Because of the extreme cold of the mortuary, my left hand started shaking and one of the attendants saw it and called the nurses or doctors and said somebody was still alive.

“From there they checked and confirmed I was still breathing. So they had to look for a vehicle to carry me to Dodan Barracks. From Dodan Barracks they looked for an ambulance and carried me to a hospital, Awolowo Road hospital, a military hospital.”

Otuwu, who hails from Kogi State, spent six months in the hospital after his miraculous survival. He has not been recognized by the army or the state.

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Presently, he does a few jobs for late General Murtala’s son, in Abuja.

Credit: The Archives.

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Nigerian University Disciplines Final-Year Students for Organising Sign-Out Parties

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The management of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Anambra State has moved decisively to discipline final-year students who openly defied the institution’s long-standing ban on sign-out activities.

In a strongly worded memorandum dated 6 August 2026 and signed by Professor Innocent Ngangah, Dean of Student Affairs, the university expressed deep disappointment at what it described as a deliberate violation of its policy prohibiting all forms of sign-out celebrations both on and off campus.

Despite repeated earlier warnings, students from the Departments of Economics, Political Science, Criminology, English, Microbiology, Mechanical Engineering and Sociology organised and took part in such events at Otoko/Awkuzu, Awka and Uli on 4 and 5 August.

The university regards the gatherings as gross misconduct and a clear act of disobedience to constituted authority. It has therefore announced that all students, departmental executives and any other persons found to have participated in or facilitated the activities will face disciplinary measures in accordance with the institution’s regulations. Possible sanctions include appearance before the Students’ Disciplinary Committee, suspension from the university, the withholding of examination results or clearance, and any further penalties the University Senate may determine.

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University authorities have long discouraged sign-out parties, warning that they can be exploited by mischievous elements for harmful acts such as pouring engine oil or urine on fellow students, and that some cult groups have used the occasions to target perceived enemies.

Professor Ngangah reiterated the ban in clear terms, stating that the university will not hesitate to enforce the full weight of its regulations against any individual or group found in further violation of the policy. All students have been firmly warned once again to desist from any form of sign-out activity.

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ICPC Uncovers Two More Fake Government Agencies, Recommends Prosecution Of Suspect

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional fake government agencies during its investigation into the activities of Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, who allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed the findings on Thursday while presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to Aliyu, the investigation established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was never created through any law or executive order.

“Our investigation confirmed that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged, while the PFIPC was never legally established by the Federal Government,” Aliyu said.

He explained that the fake agency had occupied the offices and facilities formerly used by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), where it allegedly carried out unlawful activities, including false representation and impersonation.

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The ICPC chairman further revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fake agencies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (PIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA).

According to Aliyu, the two organisations were created using forged legislative documents and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities.

He also alleged that Adeyemi changed the name of the fake agency from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and attempted to expand its operations to include revenue generation.

Aliyu said the investigation found no evidence that any government funds had been approved or disbursed to the fake agency. He also stated that investigators found no security lapses within the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria that facilitated its operations.

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The investigation, he added, identified collaborators from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The ICPC has recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, administrative sanctions against public officials who allegedly aided the operation, and reforms aimed at strengthening internal controls across government institutions.

Aliyu noted that the report submitted to President Tinubu was an interim report, adding that investigations were continuing to uncover further details and prepare criminal charges against Adeyemi and any other individuals found to have collaborated with him.

He added that President Tinubu had acknowledged the findings and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

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‘Anyone supporting Tinubu’s administration has been bribed’ — Odumeje

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Popular Anambra-based cleric, Chukwuemeka ‘Odumeje’ Ohanaemere, has alleged that Nigerians who publicly support President Bola Tinubu and his administration have been “bribed”.

Odumeje made the allegation in a video circulating on social media on Thursday.

The controversial preacher also criticised Tinubu over his recent comments on hunger in Nigeria, accusing political leaders of prioritising their personal and family interests over the welfare of citizens.

According to him, public officials are only custodians of the country’s resources and must use them for the benefit of Nigerians.

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He urged citizens to use the 2027 general elections to determine the future of the country and hold elected officials accountable.

The clergyman said: “Anyone you see singing praises for the current government is doing so because that person has been bribed if you are coming into government, whether you forced your way in or the people elected you.

“You are there to manage our resources, not your personal business or your family’s business. These are resources that belong to every Nigerian citizen. And yet you tell them they have been hungry.”

Odumeje further accused governors and senators of defending Tinubu’s statement that “there’s hunger before I was born”.

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He said Nigerians would decide during the 2027 elections whether the country belongs to political leaders and their families or to all citizens.

He said: “In 2027, we shall decide if it’s you, governor or senator, whose family owns Nigeria, or whether all of us own Nigeria. We are no longer boys; we are fathers. Your President Tinubu confessed, before answering the question, that even before he was born, Nigeria had been living with hunger. To all the people supporting President Tinubu, thank God you are now seeing how you are selling our children’s future, all because of money.

“We know all of you, as a governor, as a senator. I know why you are there supporting this man: it is because of yourself, your family, and what you can gather and acquire. After your term, if you win again, you will continue. If you do not win again, you will carry the money you have already acquired for yourself and your children, and travel to another country, leaving behind the very people you called ‘Nigerians.’ That is one thing a president has nothing to offer his own country.”

The cleric maintained that elected leaders were expected to serve Nigerians rather than pursue personal interests.

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He also said he appreciated politicians who spoke honestly about the country’s problems instead of shifting blame to opposition parties or previous administrations.

He added: “‘We are leaders; we are no longer boys; we are fathers. If you have nothing to offer the citizens of this country, then let us divide this thing we call a country. There are people whose resources you are managing.

“The resources the president of Nigeria manages do not belong to him; they belong to you and me. You are not leading animals; you are leading people,” said Odumeje.

Odumeje also faulted the Tinubu administration over its borrowing, demanding accountability for loans obtained by the Federal Government.

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He warned that the debts being incurred in the name of Nigerians would ultimately affect the people and future generations.

“A person who is leading the people must know how to talk to the people. The money you borrow, you borrow in all our names. So you must account for it, because that debt falls on our heads, and on the future of all our children.”

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