John Mark Inienger (16 April 1945 – 8 February 2002) was a

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 ...

major general who served as

ECOMOG The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...

field commander in Liberia, governor of

Bendel State The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state. It was formed in June 1963 from Benin and Delta provinces of the Western Region, and its capital was Benin City. It was renamed a pro ...

between 1985 and 1987, during the military administration of General

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 ...

, and commander of the Brigade of Guards.

Background

Inienger was born on 16 April 1945 at Mbaduku,

Vandeikya Vandeikya is a local government area in Nigeria. Vandeikya Local Government Council is located between latitude 7°5' and 7°15' north of the Equator and Longitude 9° and 9°6' east of Greenwich. It has a landmass of 183,939 square metres (0. ...

local government area of

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...

. His father was Tiv from Mbaduku, and his mother was from Bebuabung in the

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

town of

Obudu Obudu is a local government area and town in Cross River State, Nigeria. The area features a tourist resort, Obudu Mountain Resort, which hosts an annual mountain running competition called the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race. The town of O ...

. He was educated at the Mkar Primary School,

Nigerian Military School The Nigerian Military School Zaria, popularly known as (NMS), founded as the Boys-Company of Nigeria in 1954, was established under the auspices of Nigerian Regiment Training centre of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). The school was ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

; Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

;

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 Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

and the

Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College The Canadian Army Command and Staff College (CACSC), formerly the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College, is a school for officers of the Canadian Forces, specializing in staff and army operations courses. It is located at Fort Frontenac, ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Military career

Inienger was in charge of the 29 Infantry Battalion (1968–1969), battalion commander of the 82 Infantry Battalion (1970–1973), instructor at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (1975–1976) and battalion commander of the 31 Infantry (1976–1977). He was battalion commander of the Nigerian Battalion to Lebanon (1980–1981) and commander of the 4 Mechanised Brigade (1984–1985). In August 1985 General Ibrahim Babangida became the military ruler of Nigeria after a coup against

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

. Lt. Colonel Inienger was instrumental in the coup, and was rewarded by being appointed military governor of Bendel State, a position he held until December 1987. Later posts were commander of the Brigade of Guards at Nigerian Army Headquarters, Lagos (1988–1989) and

field commander in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

(1993–1996). During his period as ECOMOG commander during the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

, conditions were chaotic as warlords sought to capture sufficient territory to be rewarded after the eventual peace. Inienger was quoted as saying "There was an orchestrated campaign of calumny against ECOMOG to discredit it, its neutrality, and impartiality ... ECOMOG was being described as an army of occupation". By April 1996 his troops were hard pressed to maintain control in the capital,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

, against militiamen engaged in looting. Inienger returned from Liberia in 1996 and was appointed commandant of the

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ( ...

Retirement

In May 1999, the military handed over to the civilian government headed by

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

. Within a month, the new government ordered that all officers who had served in the military government for more than six months must retire. Inienger was among 100 officers affected by this decision. He died on 8 February 2002 while travelling by car from Jos to

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popula ...

References

1945 births 2002 deaths Nigerian military governors Nigerian Army officers Instructors at the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College Nigerian Military School alumni Nigerian Army Brigade of Guards Commanders {{nigeria-politician-stub