Opinion
By Bashorun J.K. Randle
TRENCHANT LESSONS OF HISTORY:
(i) Forty-eight years ago, on Friday 13th February 1976 (on the eve of St. Valentine’s Day) General Murtala Mohammed was assassinated by Lt. Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka at 8:30 a.m.
(ii) Lt. General T.Y. Danjuma (Chief of Army Staff) escaped assassination THRICE on the same day—-at Queen’s Drive Naval Jetty; at Defence Headquarters, Marina ; and at Bonny Camp Cantonment , Victoria Island, Lagos
(iii) General Olusegun Obasanjo became the new Head of State. Colonel Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida became a national hero for confronting (unarmed) Dimka at Radio Nigeria,Ikoyi where Dimka had held the Director- General, Dr. Christopher Kolade, late Mrs Tugbobo and other staff hostage.
(iv) Besides, Sergeant Clement Yildar who was Dimka’s accomplice when they ambushed Murtala’s and opened fire was never apprehended. Apparently, his Army record was fuzzy. His height was 5 feet 2 inches in some files while in others his height was 6feet !!!
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What Really Happened To Clement Yildar And Dauda Usman? Are They Still Missing?
One thing that has made me wonder right from my final year in the secondary school, through out my stay in the University, and till date, is the disappearance of two non-commissioned officers of the Nigerian Army, Sergeant Clement Yildar and Corporal Dauda Usman. They were among the officers found guilty by the Emmanuel Abisoye tribunal, which tried those that took part in the February 1976 coup d’état led by Lt-Col. Buka Suka Dimka. Till date, 48 years after the assassination of Murtala Muhammad and the execution of the coupists, nothing, to the best of my knowledge and the public, has been heard about these men. Could they have been executed secretly? Could they have committed suicide?
Where are Clement Yildar and Dauda Usman?
They definitely escaped to another country and may have quietly returned to Nigeria probably when democracy was restored to Nigeria.
They also won’t use their previous names if still alive for obvious reasons. Why is this thread hidden? Is this forum not supposed to serve as a meeting point where intellectuals discuss and people learn?
Since you said they were found guilty, then the fate that normally befall coupists must have befallen them. So, search no more. Nobody has heard anything about them. Are they still alive or were killed secretly?
Once you are found guilty, sentence is carry out. So possibly the are resting. I guess after lying low for some years they changed their names, relocated to another part of Nigeria and kept their mouths firmly shut.
I was in the same primary school as the son of Dauda Usman, who was quite popular in his own right. As school kids, we used to chant his nickname whenever he walked past “Askarim Baba”.
I was tempted to ask him of his Dad’s whereabouts but decided against it as he was physically big and I was scared he might give me a sound beating! One of the other coup plotters that was caught and executed also had 2 kids in the school.
Learned they both emigrated to the UK where they became citizens. How come nobody hear about them? Major Umukoro and other officers that partook Orkah’s failed coup that escaped to the UK and the US are still heard of. Could it be that Yildar and Usman changed their names and decided to remain outside the country, knowing that their offence is punishable by death?
Who knows really. I learned they became citizens in the late 70s. They could be dead also. its a long time.
Something tells the op is either Dauda Usman or Clement Yildar and he is trying to use this forum to test if Nigerians still remembers them before sneaking back home.
Really? This thread needs to be in the front page. Did they disappear? Did the government at the time seek international help to track them? You can do us a service,
You think those men could have escaped to the places whose addresses
they used upon their enlistment? You are wrong. Dodan Barracks was the seat of power, then and should have data on all enlisted servicemen. Locate their home town and get in touch with their families, time heals/opens all wounds. Get back to us and posterity will forever be grateful to you. No, but one nostalgic fella there will fill you in. Goodluck on your quest. You remind me of the film “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” Their successful disappearance leaves a gaping hole in intelligence- gathering potency of the Nigeria military. This has become increasingly obvious as time goes on.
Assassination of General Murtala Muhammed:
Shortly after 8 a.m., his Mercedes-Benz car travelled slowly in the infamous Lagos traffic near the Federal Secretariat at Ikoyi in Lagos and a group of soldiers, members of an abortive coup led by Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka, emerged from an adjacent petrol station, ambushed the vehicle and assassinated Muhammed.
From the Archives.
16th February, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: Clement Yildar Colonel Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida General Olusegun Obasanjo Lt. Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka Lt. General T.Y. Danjuma
