Mohammed Shuwa (1 September 1939 – 2 November 2012) 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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and the first General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army's 1st Division. Shuwa commanded the Nigerian Army's 1st Division during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

. He was murdered in

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

by suspected Boko Haram sect on 2 November 2012.

Background & education

Shuwa was born in Masharte,

Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon, its northern border ...

on 1 September 1939. He attended Kala Elementary School (1946–1947), Bama Central Elementary School (1948–1950), Bornu Middle School (1950–1952), and

Barewa College Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College, ...

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 ...

for his secondary education (1952–1957). He was classmates with Gen.

Murtala Muhammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

at Barewa and at subsequent military institutions. Along with

and others such as

Illiya Bisalla Iliya D. Bisalla (died 11 March 1976) was a Major General in the Nigerian Army and Commissioner of Defence (title is now Minister of Defence) under the military administration of General Murtala Mohammed, the 4th Nigerian Head of State. Milita ...

, and Ibrahim Haruna, Shuwa joined the

on 19 September 1958 and pursued his preliminary cadet training at the Regular Officers Special Training School in

Teshie Teshie is a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana. Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 171,875 people. Politics Teshie is in the ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in July 1961 after completing

officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

training at the

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 ...

Activities during the Nigerian Army mutiny of July 1966 and October Kano massacres

July 1966 Mutiny

Then Lt. Col Shuwa was Commander of the 5th Battalion in Kano during the Nigerian Army Mutiny of July 1966 where many Igbo military officers were systematically murdered by their northern counterparts for what the northern officers perceived as retribution for the January 15, 1966 coup (which was led by mostly Igbo officers). Shuwa's deputy at the 5th Battalion, then Major

James Oluleye James Oluleye (20 April 1930 – 2 July 2009) was a Nigerian Army major general who served as Federal Commissioner of Finance (1977–79), Federal Commissioner of Establishment and Service Matters (1975–77), and who commanded the Nigerian Army ...

took the initiative by asking his company commanders to lock up the battalion armory and hand over the armory keys in Olulye's armory safe. As a result of Shuwa and Oluleye's leadership, the lives of many Igbo officers during the July mutiny were saved.

October Kano massacre

In late September 1966, Shuwa and Oluleye were serendipitously posted away from the 5th Battalion and were replaced by then Major

Abba Kyari Abba Kyari (23 September 1952 – 17 April 2020) was a Nigerian lawyer who served as Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria from August 2015 to April 2020. Early life Kyari was born on 23 September 1952, to a Shuwa Arab family fr ...

and Captain Auna. On October 1, 1966, 5th Battalion troops mutinied and opened fire on the parade ground as they were addressed by Major Kyari. The mutineers murdered Captain Auna and their Regimental Sergeant Major Dauda Mumuni while Major Kyari was able to escape and hide off base. The rampaging soldiers broke into the armory and murdered Igbo civilians in Kano including some Igbo refugees about to board a south bound plane. Lt. Colonel

Hassan Katsina Hassan Usman Katsina (31 March 1933 – 24 July 1995), titled Chiroman Katsina, was the last Governor of Northern Nigeria. He served as Chief of Army Staff during the Nigerian Civil War and later became the Deputy Chief of Staff, Supreme Headqua ...

, military governor of the Northern Region intervened with the assistance of Lt Colonel Shuwa, Major

Martin Adamu Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

, and Lieutenant

Garba Duba Garba Duba (born 1942) is a retired Nigerian Army Lieutenant general who was Governor of Bauchi State, Nigeria from July 1978 to October 1979 during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo, and Administrator of Sokoto State from January ...

to suppress the mutiny. The quartet was initially overwhelmed by the mutineers and subsequently enlisted the assistance of the

Emir of Kano Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremo ...

to quell the mutiny.

Activities during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)

As General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army's 1 Division during the Civil War, Shuwa opposed

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

's disastrous 2nd Division Onitsha river assault (almost to the point where both men exchanged blows). Upon Major

Kaduna Nzeogwu Patrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu (26 February 1937 – 29 July 1967) was a Nigerian military officer and revolutionary who played a leading role in the first military coup d'ètat of 15 January 1966, which overthrew the first Nigerian republ ...

's death (then a Biafran Lt. Col) at a battle with Nigerian troops in

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively referr ...

, it was then Col. Shuwa who informed Head of State Major-General

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquish ...

about Nzeogwu's demise. Despite the fact that Nzeogwu was technically an enemy soldier killed in combat against the Nigerian Army, Gowon ordered that Nzeogwu's body be flown to Kaduna and buried with full military honours, even as the war raged on in the Eastern Region.

Post Civil War years

From 1975 to 1979, Mohammed Shuwa served as Federal Commissioner for Trade and Works. He retired from the

on October 1, 1979, when the military administration of General

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 ...

handed over the reins of political power in Nigeria to the democratically elected government of President

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...

Death

Gen. Shuwa was murdered in his Maiduguri home on 2 November 2012 by suspected

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...

militants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuwa, Mohammed 1939 births 2012 murders in Nigeria 2012 deaths Barewa College alumni Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Nigerian Army officers Nigerian generals People from Borno State People murdered in Nigeria Unsolved murders in Nigeria