Victor Adebukunola Banjo (1 April 1930 – 22 September 1967) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Nigerian Army. He fought in the

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...

n Army 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 ...

. Banjo was accused of being a coup plotter against Nigerian Prime Minister

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day B ...

by the government of Aguyi Ironsi. He was alleged to have staged a coup plot against Biafran President

Odumegwu Ojukwu Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu (4 November 1933 – 26 November 2011) was a Nigerian military officer, statesman and politician who served as the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1966 and the president of the se ...

and was executed as a result. Ojukwu's first military judge stated that was not enough evidence to convict him of coup charges, but he was found guilty by a second military tribunal.

Military career pre-1966 coup

Lieutenant Colonel Banjo was the first Nigerian Director of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps of the Nigerian Army. He joined the Army in 1953 as Warrant Officer 52 and he was the sixteenth Nigerian to be commissioned as an officer. A product of 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 ...

, he also obtained a BSc in mechanical engineering.

Arrest

His travails began after the 15 January 1966 coup, which brought Major-General

Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (3 March 1924 – 29 July 1966) was the first military head of state of Nigeria. He seized power during the ensuing chaos after the 15 January 1966 military coup, which decapitated the country's leadersh ...

to power. Three days after Aguiyi-Ironsi came to power, Banjo was summoned to the office of the Supreme Military Commander and was arrested while he was still waiting to see the head of state. Banjo, a Yoruba, attempted to defend a Yoruba officer, but was arrested by Lieutenant Colonel G. T. Kurubo and Major P. A. Anwuna and imprisoned by General Aguiyi-Ironsi. He was accused of planning to kill the head of state. Banjo proclaimed his innocence, but was denied a trial. It is suspected that Banjo was detained because it was thought that he had a hand in the 1966 coup. The coup had inflamed tribal passions and divided the military. Banjo was detained in various prisons between January 1966 and May 1967. Northern Army leaders successfully carried out a counter-coup against Aguiyi-Ironsi, an

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

. Ironsi and Colonel Fajuyi, Governor of the Western Region, were killed.

Biafra, civil war and death

When Biafra was proclaimed on 30 May 1967, Banjo was released from an Eastern Nigerian prison by President Odumegwu Ojukwu and promoted to colonel. When the Nigerian Army invaded Biafra on 6 July 1967, Ojukwu sent Banjo and Major

Albert Okonkwo Major (Dr.) Albert Nwazu Okonkwo was briefly the Military Administrator of the Mid-Western State of Nigeria in mid-1967 during an attempt to establish the region as the independent Republic of Benin early in the Nigerian Civil War. Okonkwo was a ...

to invade Nigeria. Banjo was able to capture

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

in less than a day and was able to get within 300 kilometers of then-capital

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 ...

. After Banjo was repulsed at the Battle of Ore, he and other officers (

Emmanuel Ifeajuna Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna (1935 – 25 September 1967) was a Nigerian army major and high jumper. He was the first Black African to win a gold medal at an international sports event when he won at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Game ...

, Phillip Alale, and Sam Agbam) were accused of plotting a coup against Ojukwu. After a hurried trial, that some authors characterized as biased, they were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. They were executed by firing squad on 22 September 1967.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banjo, Victor 1930 births 1967 deaths Yoruba military personnel Nigerian Army officers People executed for treason People of Biafra Separatism in Nigeria Executed Nigerian people People executed by Nigeria by firing squad Recipients of Nigerian presidential pardons Military personnel killed in the Nigerian Civil War Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Prisoners and detainees of Nigeria Yoruba people