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MAJOR Daniel Idowu Bamidele was a Nigerian Army officer born in 1949. He was executed on March 5, 1986, during the government of Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
His death was connected to the alleged “Vatsa Coup,” a supposed conspiracy against the Babangida administration.
Bamidele’s crime, according to the authorities, was not that he participated in a coup, but that he failed to report rumors of one.
Bamidele’s military career began in 1968 when he joined the Nigerian Army as a non-commissioned officer during the Nigerian Civil War.
He fought bravely in the 12th Commando Brigade, first under Colonel Benjamin Adekunle and later under Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo.
On July 29, 1970, after formal training at the Nigerian Defence Academy, he was commissioned as an officer.
His military education and performance were remarkable. He graduated from the Advanced U.S. Army Infantry Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, earning an outstanding recommendation and a personal letter of commendation from the then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Theophilus Danjuma.
He later attended the Junior Division of the Ghana Staff College in Teshie, Ghana, where he once again distinguished himself, achieving the highest command position during the final military exercise.
Between 1980 and 1981, he attended the third Senior Course at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, where he graduated among the top five percent of his class.
Throughout his career, Major Bamidele held several important positions. Between 1976 and 1979, he served as a Grade II Staff Officer in the Operations Branch at Army Headquarters.
After his return from Ghana in 1979, he became Grade II Staff Officer for Training at the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Following his senior staff training at Jaji, he was appointed General Staff Officer II for Operations and Training at the Headquarters of the 3rd Armoured Division in Jos.
In 1982, he served as Operations Officer for the Nigerian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion.
It was the last Nigerian Battalion to serve there before President Shehu Shagari withdrew Nigeria from the mission. Upon returning home, Bamidele became the Operations Officer for the 3rd Division during the border conflict with Chad.
In October 1983, while on an official assignment to Kaduna, Major Bamidele heard rumors of a planned coup against President Shehu Shagari.
When he returned to Jos, he dutifully reported the information to his General Officer Commanding, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, unaware that Buhari himself was deeply involved in the plot.
A week later, Bamidele was summoned to Lagos and detained at Tego Barracks by the Directorate of Military Intelligence. He was falsely accused of plotting a coup against President Shagari.
Witnesses were fabricated, and a mock interrogation was staged while the real conspirators continued with their plans.
With no credible evidence to support the charges, Bamidele was eventually released on November 25, 1983. Only a few weeks later, on January 1, 1984, the very man he had reported to, Major General Buhari, emerged as the new Head of State.
In early 1984, Bamidele’s name appeared on a list of officers recommended for retirement. When the list reached General Buhari for approval, he struck out Bamidele’s name, recognizing that the officer had been a victim of internal military intrigues. Bamidele was instead posted to Jaji as a Directing Staff officer.
In 1985, when rumors of another coup began to spread, Bamidele found himself entangled once again.
He attended a meeting at a guest house in Makurdi with Lieutenant Colonel Michael Iyorshe, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Bitiyong, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Oche, Wing Commander Ben Ekele, and Wing Commander Adamu Sakaba.
The officers discussed national issues and voiced criticism of the Babangida government, but no operational or seditious plans were made.
Nevertheless, the government saw the meeting as evidence of conspiracy. Remembering his previous ordeal in 1983, Bamidele chose not to report anything to avoid being misunderstood again. That silence became the basis of the charge that led to his death.
He was arrested, tried by a special military tribunal, and executed by firing squad on March 5, 1986, alongside Major General Mamman Vatsa and others accused of plotting the coup.
Before his execution, Major Bamidele made a powerful statement to the tribunal:
“I heard of the 1983 coup planning and reported it to my GOC, General Buhari, who detained me for two weeks in Lagos.
Instead of a pat on the back, I received a stab. How then do you expect me to report this one? This trial marks the eclipse of my brilliant and unblemished career of 19 years.
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I fought in the civil war with the ability it pleased God to give me. It is unfortunate that I am being convicted for something I have tried to stop on two occasions.
This is not self-adulation but a sincere summary of the qualities inherent in me.
It is an irony of fate that the President of this tribunal, who in 1964 thought I was good enough to train in the United Kingdom, is now the one saddled with the duty of showing me the exit from the force and the world.”
Major Daniel Idowu Bamidele’s life remains one of the most tragic examples of integrity misunderstood and loyalty punished in Nigeria’s military history.
– Mudashiru Murtala Ayanfe
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