On May 15, 1976, the Nigerian military government executed Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka and six other coup plotters for their involvement in the failed February 13, 1976 coup that led to the assassination of then Head of State, Murtala Muhammed.
Those executed alongside Dimka included Col. Isa Bukar, Gomwalk, who served as a Police Commissioner, and Major Afolabi, among others linked to the abortive coup attempt that shook the nation.
Historical accounts indicate that the executions marked the second batch of punishments carried out by the military authorities following the failed uprising. The first set of convicted coup plotters had earlier been executed more than two months before the May 15 exercise.
The February 1976 coup remains one of the most dramatic in Nigeria’s political history due to the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed in Lagos while on his way to work.
Analysts and historians have often described the coup as poorly coordinated, noting that the plotters failed to effectively seize strategic military formations and key national institutions necessary for taking control of government.
The failed coup ultimately paved the way for the emergence of Olusegun Obasanjo as Nigeria’s military Head of State following Murtala Muhammed’s death.
Credit:Toonna Nnabuife, Historical Nigeria-Yoruba,
