Analysing the Long-Debated Question: Who Was the Leader of the Jan 15, 1966 Coup – Major Nzeogwu or Major Ifeajuna?

 Analysing the Long-Debated Question: Who Was the Leader of the Jan 15, 1966 Coup – Major Nzeogwu or Major Ifeajuna?

By Emeka Esogbue

The question of who truly led the January 15, 1966 coup between Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Major Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna remains one of the most contested subjects in Nigeria’s political history. More than half a century later, historians, eyewitnesses, and surviving conspirators continue to offer conflicting narratives, each shaped by personal memory, regional loyalties, or ideological interpretation. This article revisits the long-debated issue by examining primary testimonies, the strategic design of the coup, and the divergent events in Lagos and Kaduna, in order to provide a nuanced and evidence-based understanding of a question that has resisted easy resolution.

It is apt to begin with brief biographical notes on the two principal actors. Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu was born on 26 February 1937 in Kaduna to Anioma parents from Umuomake village in Obodogwugwu Quarters, Okpanam, in present-day Delta State. After his primary and secondary education, he enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1957 and later trained as an infantry officer at Sandhurst. Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna, born in 1935 in Onitsha, distinguished himself early as an athlete and won a scholarship to study at the University College, Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan). He joined the Nigerian Army in the early 1960s, rising through the ranks and serving in the Lagos Garrison.

While the participation of both officers in the January 1966 coup is unquestioned, the issue of leadership remains contentious. The concept itself is complicated within a military institution where secrecy is integral to plotting. Who qualifies as the leader of a coup, the ideological architect, the operational commander, or the public face? Many Nigerians understandably assume Nzeogwu was the leader because he announced the coup over Radio Kaduna. However, this assumption collapses when compared with similar coups in Nigerian history.

For instance, the July 1966 counter-coup that overthrew General Aguiyi-Ironsi was publicly announced by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon. Yet Gowon was not the originator; he was a compromise Head of State acceptable to the junior northern officers who actually planned and executed the coup. Likewise, when Col. Joseph Garba announced the 1975 coup that brought Murtala Mohammed to power, he acted only as spokesman; Murtala and other officers were the real planners. Similarly, Sanni Abacha announced the 1985 coup that elevated Ibrahim Babangida but was not the mastermind. Public announcement does not equal leadership.

Beyond public perception, Nzeogwu’s visible and daring role in Kaduna also contributed to the belief that he was the mastermind. He carried out arrests of senior officers, seized the armoury, established roadblocks, and declared martial law. His personal courage made him a heroic figure in the aftermath, and his charismatic style often overshadowed the quieter, strategic roles of others.

Yet, Nzeogwu’s colleagues consistently described him as impulsive, an officer who, once committed to a cause, threw himself into it with more intensity than even the initiators. Olusegun Obasanjo, in My Watch, recounts an incident when Nzeogwu disregarded the guidance of his company commander during UN peacekeeping preparations in Congo. Convinced his own method was superior, Nzeogwu completed the assignment his way, creating tension between him and the commander. This anecdote illustrates Nzeogwu’s temperament: bold, uncompromising, and action-driven.

As many scholars including Nowa Omoigui, Max Siollun, and Onwuchekwa Jemie have argued, Nzeogwu was not the conceptual leader of the January 1966 coup. Rather, historical evidence indicates that the coup idea originated within a small inner circle consisting of Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Major Adewale Ademoyega, Captain Ben Gbulie (who joined later), Captain Emmanuel Nwobosi, and Major Don Okafor. These officers formed the original nucleus of the plot, at which stage Nzeogwu was not yet involved.

Adewale Ademoyega’s Why We Struck, the most authoritative first-person account from within the coup’s inner cell, states clearly that he and Ifeajuna initiated the planning. They later brought Nzeogwu into the conspiracy because his position in Kaduna, as well as his natural boldness, made him indispensable for the northern axis. In short, Nzeogwu was invited into the plot not the originator but his strategic importance quickly elevated him to one of its principal operational commanders.

When the coup commenced, the difference in discipline became evident. Nzeogwu executed his Kaduna assignments as planned, but Ifeajuna deviated from the agreed strategy in Lagos. When General Aguiyi-Ironsi regained control and loyal troops moved against the mutineers, Ifeajuna fled. Ademoyega records that Ifeajuna escaped from Lagos to the Eastern Region, crossed into Dahomey (now Benin), and returned only after the outbreak of the Biafran War.

Meanwhile, after taking control of the North, Nzeogwu declared martial law, issued public statements, and maintained the illusion that the coup could still succeed unaware that Lagos had collapsed. When news of failure reached him, he realized the northern operation could not stand alone. Persuaded by Colonel Conrad Nwawo, his mentor who assured him of fair treatment, Nzeogwu surrendered.

Within Biafra, Ifeajuna’s return became entangled in wartime suspicion. He, along with Victor Banjo, Philip Alale, and Sam Agbam, was accused of actions deemed contrary to Biafra’s survival. They were tried by a wartime tribunal and executed in 1967.

In the final analysis, while Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu became the symbol of the January 15 coup due to his dramatic Kaduna operation and broadcast, the available evidence shows that he was not the leader of the plot. The coup’s ideological conception, initial planning, and early coordination originated with Ifeajuna, Ademoyega, and a small Lagos-based inner circle. Nzeogwu’s role though crucial was operational, not foundational. His later prominence has overshadowed the quieter, strategic work of the true initiators. Thus, despite his bravery and public visibility, Nzeogwu was not the leader of the coup, but rather one of its most committed executors.