(Yakubu Gowon. Photo Credit: Premuim Times)
Former Nigerian Head of State, retired General Yakubu Gowon, has revealed that Joseph Garba, the very officer he appointed to oversee his personal security, played a key role in the military coup that removed him from power in July 1975.
In his 859-page autobiography titled “My Life of Duty and Allegiance,” Gowon described the incident as the greatest personal betrayal of his political career, noting that it was carried out by men he had trusted deeply and, in Garba’s case, someone he also considered close on a family level.
Gowon recalled that just days before the coup, Garba had stood before him and denied any knowledge of a plot to unseat his government.
He also recounted how his Chief Security Officer, M.D. Yusuf, had previously alerted him that certain military officers, including Garba and Anthony Ochefu, then Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Military Police, were allegedly scheming against his administration ahead of an OAU summit in Kampala, Uganda.
He acknowledged that this warning put him in a very difficult position, given that Garba headed the elite unit solely responsible for his physical protection.
Gowon noted that Garba’s appointment to that sensitive role was partly driven by family connections and the deep confidence he had in him.
He further noted that beyond the professional trust, both Garba and Ochefu were Christians from his home state of Benue Plateau, men he had known personally for years and had grown genuinely fond of, making the betrayal all the more painful.
