February 13 1976 coup by Saka olodo

February 13th 1976 Coup

When Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka of the Nigeria Army Physical Training Corps stepped out of his official residence on Macpherson Road, Ikoyi, in the early hours of February 13, 1976, he had one agenda in mind; the killing of the then Head of State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed.

He achieved that criminal act by gunning down the Kano-born head of state a few minutes after the latter left the Dodan Barracks, Obalende, the official seat of the Federal Military Government at the time.

Muhammed’s official black Mercedes Benz was riddled with bullets near a petrol station on Bank Road, (now Murtala Muhammed Drive) opposite the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi. Killed along with him were, his ADC, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa and driver.

After the assassination, Dimka had made a broadcast at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) studio in the following words;

‘’Good morning fellow Nigerians, This is Lt. Col. B. Dimka of the Nigerian Army calling.

I bring you good tidings. Murtala Muhammed’s deficiency has been detected. His government is now overthrown by the young revolutionaries. Any attempt to foil these plans from any quarters will be met with death.

Everyone should be calm. Please stay by your radio for further announcements. All borders, air and sea ports are closed until further notice. Curfew is imposed from 6am to 6pm. Thank you. We are all together.”

Two days after Muhammed was assassinated, Dimka was declared wanted for treason and murder by military authorities. He was eventually caught at a checkpoint at Abakaliki on March 5, 1976 and brought to Lagos the following day.

On March 6, 1976, the Federal Government promptly issued a statement on his arrest as follows: ‘’His arrest followed a massive manhunt operation mounted by a combined team of the Army and Police in the area.

‘’The previous day, Lt. Col Dimka had checked in at a local hotel in Afikpo under the name of Mr. C. Godwin of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Enugu. Later, on his request, the hotel manager secured for him a girl, Miss. Beatrice Agboli, with whom to spend the night.

‘’A few hours later, the local Police security was alerted and they closed up on him. At about 10.30 pm, he bolted away through the window of the toilet of his hotel room into a nearby thick bush, abandoning his car with a dangling registration number ECC 6253.”

‘’The continuous joint manhunt operation by the Army and Police resulted in his subsequent arrest near Abakaliki.’’

Barely few hours after he was brought to Lagos, he was interrogated by the military Board of Inquiry led by Major Gen. E. O. Abisoye.

However while Dimka was being quizzed, 32 people including Major Gen. Illiya Bisalla, who had already been tried for their roles in the attempted coup were executed in Lagos on March 11, 1976.

The only civilian executed among them was Abdulkarim Zakari, a graduate of University of Ibadan, who was said to have led Dimka and others into the studios of the NBC on February 13, 1976. The broadcaster was also cited as the man who signed for martial music records from the NBC library the previous night.

Just as the first batch of coup plotters were executed, Dimka’s trial begun after he was presented to the press on March 11, 1976.

Handcuffed, Dimka who wore a katftan dress watched journalists listen to a tape recording of his appearance before the board of inquiry for about five minutes. He confirmed that the voice on the tape was his own and that it was a recording made at his interrogation. He emphasised that the statement was not made under duress.

According to a Daily Times publication, ‘’13 Years of Military Rule 1966-79’’ the highlights of Dimka’s confessional statements included, ‘’Frankly speaking, I should say the beginning of the coup idea was around January this year (1976).’’

He said he had discussions with some persons including former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon in London and when he returned to the country, he decided to assign responsibilit