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North believed Ojukwu knew about 1966 coup, says Gowon in memoir

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Yakubu Gowon, former military head of state, has revealed in his memoir that
Northern military officers believed Chukwuemeka Ojukwu was involved in the January 1966 coup d’etat and wanted to move against him.

Gowon, who ruled Nigeria from July 1966 to July 1975, will present his memoir, ‘My Life of Duty and Allegiance’, in Abuja today.

In the January 1966 coup executed by officers mostly of Igbo origin, key northern leaders and military officers were killed.

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the prime minister; Ahmadu Bello, premier of the Northern region; Ladoke Akintola, premier of the Western region who was their political ally; and Festus Okotie-Eboh, minister of finance, were all killed.

Zakariya Maimalari, a brigadier and the most senior military officer from the north, was also killed alongside many other northerners in the military.

The coup failed and Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, a major general and the army chief, became the head of state.

The reverberations from the failed coup led to the counter coup of July 1966 in which Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed.

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Gowon, then a lieutenant colonel and army chief, was made the head of state after the countercoup led by northern officers.

Ojukwu, a colonel who was then the governor of the now defunct Eastern region, refused to accept Gowon’s leadership, insisting that the most senior army officer, Babafemi Ogundipe, a brigadier, should have been appointed to the position.

Ojukwu declared the secession of Biafra from Nigeria in May 1967, leading to a 30-month civil war

Gowon was a lieutenant colonel — two ranks below Ogundipe — when he assumed office as head of state.

Joseph Wey, a commodore, and Adeyinka Adebayo, a colonel, were also senior to Gowon, and he was promoted to major-general and later full-star general within one year.

According to TheCable, an advance copy of the book, published by the Havilah Group, Lagos, states “The case of Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe was, however, not as straight forward because the course of the coup had made it obvious that he could no longer function effectively in the command-and-control structure of the Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces. With the concurrence of the UK government, he was appointed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK,” Gowon wrote.

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“Ojukwu refused my offer of friendship. By extension, he wilfully refused to recognise my leadership. He felt that the ‘normal’ protocol of seniority in service should have been upheld in selecting General Ironsi’s successor under the new administration, regardless of the circumstances by which I assumed power. Admiral Wey effectively persuaded former Supreme Military Council members to take cognisance of the situation and support my leadership, highlighting my ability to command respect from junior officers and my willingness to lead during a difficult time.”

Gowon did not believe Ojukwu was supporting Ogundipe or defending the army hierarchy for altruistic reasons.

He wrote: “Left unsaid at the time was Ojukwu’s strong view that I was junior to him in the hierarchy. He failed to appreciate that he had been under serious threat because the young Northern officers believed he was complicit in the January 15, 1966 coup. I pre-empted any attempt to move against him, in part, because of my respect for all the Regional Governors and, more importantly, because I saw him primarily as a colleague and officer with whom I thought I had worked to restore normalcy in those early days of uncertainty. I believed that, together, we could rebuild the army and allow the country to continue its course in history.”

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Despite his reservations, he went ahead and retained Ojukwu as the governor of the East.

“My decision to retain Ojukwu in office was altogether altruistic though subsequent events made it seem a huge mistake. But with the situation at hand, it did not matter whether he agreed or not with the fact that change had occurred. Even if he did not agree with my new role, the soldier in him never said he would leave the Army. I let him be,” Gowon wrote.

Ojukwu subsequently declared the secession of Biafra in May 1967 over the reprisal killing of Igbos in the north after the January 1966 putsch.

This led to a 30-month civil war which came to an end in January 1970 with the surrender of Biafra.

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Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: 2027 election: Missing names, party disputes cloud INEC list

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1. Political parties and their candidates have begun moves to resolve discrepancies in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections, following the omission of several governorship and other candidates across the country.

The development has triggered protests and anxiety among affected parties, with the Peoples Democratic Party, Nigeria Democratic Congress, African Democratic Congress and other political platforms engaging the electoral commission over the missing names.

2. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded immediate and full transparency from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over reported redeployments in key departments and the production, printing and custody of sensitive materials for the 2027 general elections. In a statement issued by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the reported changes in the Electoral Operations Department raised serious questions that INEC must answer without delay.

3. Dangote Refinery-backed MRS and other Nigerian filling stations have increased their retail prices of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol. A market survey conducted on Sunday showed that filling stations in Abuja and its environs had raised petrol prices to N1,409 per litre from N1,370.

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4. The United States Department of Homeland Security has released the names and photographs of 24 Nigerian nationals arrested by immigration officers over alleged criminal offences. The development comes as the Donald Trump administration intensifies its immigration enforcement campaign.

5. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his administration’s investments in compressed natural gas and electric-powered transportation are beginning to deliver substantial savings for Nigerians, with some commuters reporting reductions of up to 67 per cent in transport fares. The President, who personally responded to testimonies from beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s transportation interventions on Sunday, said the emerging relief demonstrated his administration’s determination to cushion the hardship occasioned by the removal of the petrol subsidy.

6. The Rivers State Government has cordoned off a building estimated to be over 60 years old in the old Port Harcourt Township area after part of the structure collapsed, injuring four persons. The two-storey building, located at No. 18 Club Road, reportedly shed part of its parapet on Friday around 7pm, with debris falling onto the ground floor, where people were gathered at a bar. The incident left four persons injured, including a woman who reportedly sustained injuries to her head and ear. No death was recorded.

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7. The Presidency on Sunday dismissed former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposed production subsidy on petrol as “a dangerous mathematical fantasy wrapped in political deceit”, saying Nigeria does not have the crude oil volumes needed to fund it. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, stated this in a statement issued on Sunday titled ‘Atiku’s Demagoguery in the Face of Tinubu’s Logical Policies’.

8. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has begun engaging the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to resolve the omission of some of its candidates from the commission’s final list of governorship candidates for the 2027 elections, released on Saturday. In a statement on Sunday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said the party was treating the development with the seriousness it deserved and seeking an amicable resolution in line with the law and established electoral guidelines.

9. Twenty one political parties are fielding 119 women for governorship elections in next year’s poll, it was learnt at the weekend. However, 936 governorship candidates and running mates are on the ballot for the February 6, 2027 poll across 28 states.
Also, out of 10,020 candidates for the House of Assembly, 1,016 are women.

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10. As part of efforts to reduce the cost of living, the Federal Government has waived N3.3 trillion in fuel taxes and duties. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu disclosed this yesterday in a series of posts on his X handle. The President also defended the government’s response to rising petrol prices, saying the tax waiver would complement the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Retail’s decision to forgo its profit margin for 30 days to provide temporary relief.

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Troops kill over 25 terrorists, repel ISWAP attack in Borno

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Troops of Operation Hadin Kai of the Nigerian Army have killed more than 25 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists who launched a “coordinated multi-directional assault” in Kukawa, Borno state.

Mohammed Goni, acting military information officer at the headquarters of the joint task force (north-east) Operation Hadin Kai, in a statement issued on Wednesday,   said some soldiers also paid the supreme price during the encounter.

“The terrorists, who attacked troops of 101 Special Forces Battalion in large numbers from four different flanks, met stiff resistance as the troops responded decisively with superior firepower, tactical manoeuvre and effective battlefield coordination,” the statement reads.

“Supported by the Air Component, the troops overwhelmed the terrorists, inflicted heavy casualties and forced the surviving elements to flee in disarray.

“Preliminary assessment indicates that over 25 terrorists were neutralised, with 14 bodies recovered so far.

“During exploitation of the area, troops recovered a cache of arms and ammunition, including six AK-47 rifles.

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“Further exploitation is ongoing to recover additional weapons, track the fleeing terrorists and prevent them from regrouping.

“Regrettably, some gallant soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice during the encounter.”

While sending condolences to the families of the slain soldiers, Goni said, “their courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty will remain an enduring testament to their service to the nation.”

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Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: Military air crashes: 10 incidents in five years trigger calls for reforms

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1. Nigeria recorded at least 10 military aircraft crashes between 2021 and October 2026, resulting in at least 68 confirmed and presumed deaths, an analysis of military aviation incidents has shown.

The incidents involved fighter jets, helicopters, training aircraft, transport aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles, and occurred during combat operations, training exercises, routine missions, casualty evacuation, and post-maintenance checks

2. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Tuesday announced that Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Oyo states were leading other states in the number of registered voters in the country ahead of the 2027 general elections. Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, also said that the Commission only received the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment on the Electoral Act on Tuesday and was studying it.

3. The Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU), Delta state, has suspended Anthony Kila, its pro-chancellor, over controversy surrounding his professorial status. 
According to PREMIUM TIMES, the directive was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, three days after the newspaper published an investigation questioning the basis of Kila’s professorial title

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4. The United States Army has scheduled the execution of former Army Major Nidal Hasan, who was convicted over the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others. According to an execution order signed by Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle and dated October 6, 2026, Hasan will be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3, 2026. The execution is scheduled for 1pm Central Standard Time.

5. Amphibious excavators have begun efforts to recover victims of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft crash in the riverine area of Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. The recovery operation commenced on Tuesday amid difficult terrain and challenging water conditions at the crash site.

6. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and some leaders of the Rainbow Coalition met with Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, at the latter’s private residence in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. Also at the meeting were the state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Kingsley Chinda, and Senator Magnus Abe.

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7. A director in the federal ministry of finance has told a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Maitama that the ministry and the office of the accountant-general of the federation (OAGF) were unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). At the proceedings on Tuesday, Ali Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness (PW10) in the trial of Godwin Emefiele, former CBN governor, told the court that the transaction was classified in the ministry’s records as a direct debit by the apex bank



8. Lionel Messi ended his Argentina international career with a goal and two assists as the world champions defeated Benin 3-0 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night. The match, played on October 6, marked Messi’s final appearance for Argentina after a 21-year international career. Former Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr was in charge of Benin for the farewell fixture.

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9. The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has promised to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, reversing the impression created by earlier comments that his administration would only seek to reform the scheme. Obi made the promise on Tuesday during an interview with the BBC, where he argued that the major problem with the subsidy regime was the corruption surrounding its implementation.



10. A 50-year-old murder suspect, Bethlehem Nwanlia, reportedly slumped and died shortly after proceedings began at the Bayelsa State High Court in Yenagoa on Tuesday. Nwanlia was standing trial alongside two other defendants over alleged conspiracy, kidnapping and multiple murder when the incident occurred at Court 11.

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