Zakariya Maimalari was a Nigerian Army brigadier, he was killed in the

1966 Nigerian coup d'état The 1966 Nigerian coup d'état began on 15 January 1966, when mutinous Nigerian soldiers led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna killed 22 people including the Prime Minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, many senior Army o ...

. He was commander of the 2nd Brigade, Apapa, Lagos in 1966. Maimalari was born in the present day Yobe State, he was educated at

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. Maimalari and his childhood friend, Lawan Umar joined the Royal West Africa Frontier Force in 1950. As part of a Nigerianization program to enlist more Nigerians into the senior ranks of army, he underwent preparatory course at the Regular Officers Training School, Teshie Ghana and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Both Maimalari and Lawan attended Sandhusrt but Lawan was later discharged from the army. Maimalari was the first Nigerian regular combatant commissioned into the officer Corps of the Nigerian army. He was an instructor at the Nigerian Military Training College and later commander of the second battalion Nigerian army. The intention to promote more Nigerian officers led to an organizational structure developed by regional and ethnic considerations. Maimalari was sometimes viewed by some Southern officers as a symbol of Northern domination due to his swift rise through the officer ranks from a regular combatant. The day prior to 15 January 1966 coup, Maimalari was celebrating his recent marriage, unknowingly some of the attendees were also rebel leaders who would come back to haunt him. On the day of the coup, as soon as rebel

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

entered his compound, he escaped through the back of his house, at first hiding in a small quarters in his compound before exiting into the main road. On the road, he flagged a car hoping to go to Ikeja, but unfortunately, the car was a rebel car and he was captured and later killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maimalari, Zakariya 1966 deaths Year of birth missing Barewa College alumni Nigerian generals