Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu

Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu was a Nigerian military officer who played a leading role in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état, which overthrew the First Nigerian Republic. He was born on 26 February 1937 in Kaduna, a city that gave him his nickname. He attended two Christian schools in Kaduna for his elementary and secondary education, and then enlisted as an officer-cadet in the Nigeria Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1957. He completed his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1959. He served in various units and posts, including the Congo, Zaria, Lagos, and Kaduna. He was the first Nigerian officer to head the military intelligence section at the Army Headquarters. He was described as a devout Catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and a bachelor. He was also a radical, courageous, and charismatic leader who was dissatisfied with the political and social situation of Nigeria. He and his fellow officers planned and executed a coup on 15 January 1966, which aimed to overthrow the corrupt and inept civilian government and establish a progressive and united Nigeria. However, the coup failed to achieve its objectives, as it was seen as a regional and ethnic plot that targeted mainly Northern and Western politicians and senior officers. The coup was quashed by General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who arrested Nzeogwu and his co-conspirators. Nzeogwu was detained in the East, where he later joined the secessionist state of Biafra after the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967. He was killed in action on 29 July 1967 near Nsukka, while leading a guerrilla unit against the federal forces. He was buried in Kaduna, his hometown. He is regarded as a hero by some and a villain by others, depending on their perspective of the coup and its consequences.