Akinloye Akinyemi, (1954–2012), also known as Sergeant Carter, was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

retired

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

who was arrested, tried and sentenced in 1987 and 1995 for alleged coup plotting. During his military career, he served in the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

Signal Corps. He is the younger brother of

Bolaji Akinyemi Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi (born 4 January 1942) is a Nigerian professor of political science who was Nigeria External Affairs Minister from 1985 to late 1987. He is the chairman of the National Think Tank. Early life, academic career, and pers ...

Early life and education

Akinyemi is a native of

Ilesa Ilesa () is an ancient town located in the Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom (also known as Ijesha) centred on that village. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ij ...

Osun State Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Ogun S ...

. He attended

Government College, Ibadan Government College Ibadan (founded 28 February 1929) is a boys' secondary school located on the hills of Apata Ganga in Ibadan, Nigeria. History The founding fathers of Government College Ibadan were Selwyn MacGregor Grier, Director of Education ...

, cadet unit, military training bush camp in

Igbo-Ora Igbo-Ora is a city and the headquarters of Ibarapa Central, Oyo State, south-western Nigeria, situated north of Lagos. In 2006 the population of the town was approximately 72,207 people. In 2017 the population is estimated to be around 278,514 pe ...

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

in 1960s and

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of t ...

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

where he became the best army cadet during his graduation in 1970s. He went to

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

, where he won the Cane of Honour as the Best Overseas Cadet, before preceding to

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...

, where he graduated with a first class degree in electrical engineering.

Trials and imprisonment

In 1987, Akinyemi was arrested and tried by a military tribunal headed by

Oladipo Diya Donaldson Oladipo Diya (born 3 April 1944) is a Nigerian general who served as Chief of the General Staff, (''de facto'' Vice President of Nigeria) under military head of state General Sani Abacha from 1994 until his arrest for treason in 1997. ...

for allegedly coup plotting against

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

. He was found not guilty of treason, but served a five-year prison sentence after getting convicted of a lesser, disciplinary offence. On 26 January 1995, Akinyemi was again arrested, detained and interrogated on allegations of coup plotting by the

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

led military government. On 5 June 1995, the military government assembled a secret special military tribunal headed by Patrick Aziza. The tribunal tried and charged Akinyemi and 15 others with treason, concealment of treason, and conspiracy. On 30 June 1995, Akinyemi challenged the authority of the secret tribunal to hear the case at the Lagos federal high court, Judge Vincent Eigbedion dismissed the lawsuit, citing the 1990 Special Military Tribunal Act which prevents the judiciary from interfering with tribunal matters. On 13 July 1995, Akinyemi also approached the Lagos court of appeal to prevent any sentence from being carried out on him and the others, Judge Kolapo Sulu-Gambari turned down the request, citing that the court was not convinced Akinyemi's life was in danger. On 14 July 1995, Akinyemi was sentenced to death, but was later commuted to life imprisonment on 1 October 1995. On 4 March 1999, the then military government of

Abdulsalami Abubakar Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...

, granted Akinyemi and others a grant of clemency, thus pardoning them for all the allegations and charges leveled against them.

Death

Akinyemi died in 2012. He was buried at the Victoria Court Cemetery,

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos, Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island (Lagos), Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic O ...

, Lagos, after his funeral service was held at

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in Lagos, Nigeria. The General overseer (most senior pastor) is Enoch Adeboye, ordained in 1981. The church in Lagos had an average church attendanc ...

, The Lord Central Parish, Lekki.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akinyemi, Akinloye 1954 births 2012 deaths People from Osun State Burials at Victoria Court Cemetery Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst People from Ilesha Nigerian Army officers Participants of coups in Nigeria Nigerian Defence Academy alumni People convicted of treason against Nigeria Nigerian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Nigeria